Surprising Developments
by newanimefan
Summary: A tragedy strikes the Sohma family... But will something good come of it? Will love blossom? And what happens when Tohru's friends learn of the Zodiac curse due to some... unique circumstances? Romance/Humor/some Tragedy at the beginning REWRITE IN PROGRESS am going to add several chapters that serve as the epilogue, not sure when... rewrite mostly for grammar/spelling errors.
1. An End Brings a New Beginning

This is a rewrite of one of my earlier stories, Surprising Developments. Once I finish this rewrite, I'll go on to write a sequel, which will probably be longer. For those of you who've already read Surprising Developments, that will be the epilogue I promised you!

To recap for those of you who haven't read the aforementioned story, here is a brief overview of the time frame:

Takes place before the curse is broken, but all the zodiac members have been met. Kureno and Arisa have met, but no one knows about it besides Hana and Tohru, who didn't know his name. Tohru still doesn't know Akito's big secret.

* * *

It was a day to be remembered, for more reasons than just the one. It definitely hadn't started out that way, though. In fact, it started out as a perfectly average, nothing-special kind of morning.

"Dang rat, get off of me!" Kyo yelled loudly when Yuki, still half asleep, leaned against him for support.

"Ungh," Yuki replied, collapsing onto the floor by the table, which was laden with the breakfast Tohru had prepared. She smiled at him.

"Having a hard time waking up as always, I see, Yuki!" she giggled. Kyo sat down moodily.

"I don't see why every time he gets drowsy he decides that I'm the perfect freaking resting place!" Kyo growled. Shigure walked in with an expression of mock horror on his face.

"Please don't make a tired Yuki mad, Kyo. It always ends with my beautiful house getting destroyed!" Shigure begged. Kyo rolled his eyes and didn't say anything.

After they'd all eaten, the three high-schoolers got ready for school, and Shigure prepared to make an outing, too.

"Are you going to go out today, Shigure?" Tohru asked cheerfully.

"Yes, I thought I'd take a brisk walk around town! It might do me some good!" Shigure said, grinning and patting his stomach.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is just another scheme to torture your poor editor?" Yuki asked, shaking his head. Shigure laughed innocently, and Yuki's eyes narrowed.

As Kyo, Tohru, and Yuki were arriving at school, Uo and Hana walked up to Tohru and dragged her away without any explanation to the boys.

"So, how are you doing?" Uo asked gently. Tohru smiled.

"I'm okay. Besides, the anniversary isn't until tomorrow!" Tohru said.

"That doesn't mean you can't be sad, Tohru," Hana reminded her.

"Mom wouldn't want me to be sad! She'd want me to keep strong and carry on!" Tohru said.

"So strong!" Uo cried, hugging Tohru fiercely. Then they all went off to their respective classes. Things remained pretty normal throughout the day, until right around one. It was Tohru's only class that had neither Yuki or Kyo present, but it was also the only one where both Uo and Hana were present, so it was a fair trade-off.

Yuki and Kyo suddenly burst into the classroom with horrified and worried looks on their faces. Without a moment's hesitation, Tohru jumped out of her seat and followed them. Uo and Hana followed a second later.

"What happeed!?" Tohru asked breathlessly, fearing the worst.

"We don't know, but Shigure called the school and told them to send us home. Some sort of family emergency or something. It must be bad," Kyo said, sounding somewhat worried.

"I hope no one's hurt!" Tohru squeaked. Uo and Hana pu hands on her shoulders.

"We'll cover for you. You may not officially be their family, but you might as well be. Go on, we'll think of something!" Uo said, and Hana nodded.

"Thank you, guys!" Tohru said, and she shot off, Yuki and Kyo keeping pace. THey signed out of the office as quickly as they could, and ran home as fast as Tohru could run. (Yuki and Kyo slowed down to match her pace.)

Yuki slammed the door open, the other two right behind him. THey charged into the living room to find Haru, Momiji, Ayame, Rin, and Shigure all perched somewhere with solemn looks on their faces. For Shigure, Momiji, and Ayame, this was so rare that the three teens were more worried than ever.

"What's up!? The people at school didn't tell us anything!" Kyo said, panting slightly.

"It's... Hiro and Kisa. They had a half day today, and got hit by a car while driving home. They're in critical condition, and it's unsure whether or not they'll live," Shigure said, his tone of voice mirroring his expression. "They're in too bad a shape to have visitors." Tohru immediately started tearing up. Everyone she loved... why was it always a car crash!

"No..." she whispered in horror, plopping down on the couch next to Momiji. Yuki leaned against the wall with his eyes closed in shock. Kyo put a comforting hand on Tohru's small shoulder, but he didn't say anything for fear his voice would break. He had a hidden soft spot for Kisa, though he'd never been overly fond of Hiro. Several hours after they ate dinner, which was takeout since Tohru couldn't manage, they got a phone call. Shigure pounced on the phone.

"Hatori? How are they?" Shigure asked forcefully, desperation written all over his face. THere was a pause, and Hatori answered softly. Tears began making their way down Shigure's face, his eyes clenching shut. Hatori kept speaking for awhile, and eventually Shigure hung up the phone and he sat down again, sobbing silently.

"What happened? Are Kisa and Kiro all right?" Momiji asked. Shigure took a deep breath, calming himself slightly before answering in a shaky voice.

"No, Momiji. They didn't make it. Kisa went first, and when Hiro found out, it put to much stress on him, and he didn't last. I'm sorry," Shigure said, and broke down into tears once more.

Tohru curled into a ball and sobbed violently, unable to bring herself to say anything. Kyo glanced at a digital clock that was sitting on a table. 12:02, which meant that it was officially the anniversary of her mother's death, as well. Kyo wanted so desperately to be able to comfort her, to hold her until she couldn't cry anymore, but there was nothing he could do to lessen the pain of the girl he loved. Yuki followed his line of vision with saddened eyes, and upon seeing the clock, his face darkened.

Eventually, Hatori came to pick the others up and take them home. So, with tear-streaked faces and heavy hearts, they headed back to a home that would never be the same.

WHen the house was finally emptied of the mourning family, tohru had disappeared. The threesome decided to let her be. She was in more pain than any of them, today, despite her status as a non-family-member.

Kyo climbed up to the roof to think when the other two went to sleep, and was surprised to find Tohru up there already, instead of in her room, where he'd originally thought she'd disappeared to.

He was about to go quietly back downstairs, not wanting to disturb her or make things worse, but she stopped him.

"Kyo?" she asked, turning towards him, her voice trembling. He sighed, and climbed back up onto the roof, walking over to sit next to her. Had her eyes always been that amber color? He could've sworn they were blue.

"It-it's j-j-just so h-horrible!" Tohru wailed, hugging herself. Kyo hesitated, then held his arms out. She looked at him questioningly.

"Just this once. You look like you need it," Kyo said, blushing slightly. She nodded gratefully and threw herself into his waiting arms. He reveled in the feeling of her small frame against him, waiting for the telltale poof that meant he was no longer human, but a cat. And he waited... and waited... Tohru glanced t him in shock, still clutching him. He shrugged incredulously.

"Is the curse broken!?" Tohru asked hopefully. Kyo shook his head.

"I don't think so. I think I'd be able to feel it if it was," Kyo replied. "I'm not sure what's happening."

Tohru shrugged. She couldn't find it in herself o care. There was so much on her mind already, and it made her happier to simply be able to hold him close to her without him changing. It calmed her down, and soon she had cried herself to sleep, her head resting against his chest and her hand intertwined with his. Not wanting to wake her and make her think about the day's events, Kyo stayed still and eventually succumbed to sleep as well.

Kyo woke up suddenly with the sun, jolting slightly and waking Tohru up.

"Oh, I'm sorry Tohru!" Kyo said apologetically. Tohru shook her head, sitting up between his legs and stretching, blushing a little when she noticed their positions.

"It's okay, Kyo. I'm sorry I fell asleep on top of you and... a-choo!" tohru said, but sneezed violently, cutting off her sentence.

"Oh great, now you're sick!" Kyo said. "I should have woken you up and taken you back downstairs!"

"it's not- a-choo!- your fault. Besides, I'm fine! I can- a-choo!- still go to school and everything!" Tohru said determinedly.

"What are you talking about?" Kyo asked incredulously. "Even if you weren't sick, there's no way I'd let you go to school today! Or for the rest of the week, for that matter! You're taking time off for emotional reason, promise to your mom or not, got it? And no arguing!" Tohru nodded silently, tearing up slightly and trying to stand up, but her legs were shaky and weak.

"I'll carry you down. I don't want you falling off the roof," Kyo said, and scooped her up. SHe put her arms around his neck, and he carried her down into the house. Just as they were passing Yuki's room, he woke up and reopened the door. He froze when he saw Tohru clinging desperately to Kyo, and the latter remaining unchanged. Before he had a chance to react at all, Kyo kicked open the door to Tohru's room and put her on her bed.

"You wait here, I'll bring you some food," Kyo said. Tohru began freaking out.

"No, I already missed making dinner last night! I couldn't possibly..." Kyo cut her off.

"I'll make breakfast. You're sick, remember? Let people take care of you for once, okay?" Kyo said, shaking his head. Tohru reluctantly agreed, and Kyo went out back into the hall. Yuki was still frozen, gaping at Kyo as he came out.

"What are staring at, ratboy!?" Kyo asked angrily, flushing.

"But... you didn't transform! And why were you carrying her, anyway!?" Yuki asked.

"I'm not sure why I'm not transforming, but I was carrying her because she fell asleep on the roof, and now she's sick and weak and there was no way she'd be able to get down here without hurting herself!" Kyo said. He conveniently left out the little detail where she'd been sleeping on top of him on the roof, but he knew if he said anything he'd never live it down.

"But... the curse!" Yuki insisted on arguing his point and Kyo sighed in annoyance.

"We'll discuss it later, okay!? Right now I have a meal to prepare," Kyo said, and walked downstairs. Shigure was waiting in the kitchen, and looked up when Kyo walked in.

"Oh, it's you. I was hoping it was Tohru, coming to make me breakfast!" Shigure said with a sigh. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Tohru's sick. I'm making food," Kyo said, and set about the task.

"She's sick? Is she alright?" Shigure asked, slipping out of perv/creep-mode and into normal(ish)-mode.

"She'll be fine. It's just a slight cold. She fell asleep on the roof last night, it was bound to happen," Kyo replied. Shigure smirked.

"You know, I don't think I heard you return to your room either, Kyo. Why was that?" Shigure asked. Kyo flushed scarlet.

"SHUT UP," he said dangerously. Yuki walked in right as Kyo finished up with the leek stew, which he was having trouble not barfing into, and also more traditional breakfast foods for the three of them who weren't ill. Yuki was still muttering to himself.

"What's up with you this morning, Yuki?" SHigure asked.

"Kyo didn't transform!" Yuki said. Shigure glanced back at Kyo.

"Did Tohru hug you!?" Shigure asked excitedly.

"No, I was carrying her down to her room. I don't know why I didn't transform, but..." Kyo said, shrugging as he set breakfast on the table. Anyway, I'm going to go bring this up to Tohru. I think we're all in agreement that we might as well stay home for the rest of the week? Tohru's sick, and we've all had a shock." The other two nodded, and Kyo walked upstairs with the leek stew, holding his breath to avoid breathing it in. He walked into Tohru's room and set the stew on her bedside table.

"Are you okay?" Kyo asked. Tohru smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"Kind of weak, but the stew should help, thank-" POOF. Kyo frowned. So it was a fluke after all! He still transformed when hugged! Then why hadn't it worked last night?

The smoke cleared, and Kyo was shocked to discover that it wasn't him who'd transformed. Cradled in his arms was a small tiger, staring up at him in shock. They both started screaming at once.

Kyo, Tohru still in his arms, ran down into the kitchen. Everything began clicking into place, the eyes, the lack of transformation. She'd transformed because she was weak, not because of the hug but how did she get possessed in the first place!?

"Guys! I know why I didn't transform!" Kyo yelled as he ran towards the kitchen, a shrieking Tohru still in his arms.

"Kisa!?" Yuki exclaimed in shock. Before SHigure had a chance to look up to see what Yuki was talking about, there was another POOF and a blast of smoke.

When Shigure did look up, he saw a very embarrassed Kyo holding an even more embarrassed (and slightly exposed) Tohru. Kyo set her down and all three looked away, blushing madly.

"So, Kyo... what exactly were you and Tohru doing while I looked away?" Shigure asked, elbowing Kyo in his side.

"SHUT UP!" Kyo said angrily. "She just changed back!"

"But, why did she change in the first place!? For a second there, I thought she was Kisa! How did she get possessed?" Yuki asked. Shigure looked at them like they were crazy, as he hadn't seen her as a tiger, just as a very naked girl.

"She's the tiger now!" Kyo said to Shigure, whose eyes widened. He then hit himself in the head.

"I should've seen that coming!" Shigure said. The others looked at him strangely. "I know you were always told the zodiac members had to be of Sohma blood, but that's completely false. Rather, it's all about proximity to the family. Unborn children have spent several months completely enveloped in a Shoma, but it's not always like that. And who spends more time with the zodiac than anyone else? Tohru and her friends!" Tohru walked back into the kitchen, clothed and still scarlet.

"So... I'm the tiger now?" she asked slowly.

"It would appear so," Shigure said with a frown. His face suddenly brightened. "But that means I can to this!" he continued, and suddenly launched at her and crushed her in a bear hug. Seconds later, he was flat on his back after taking one kick to his shins and one to his head, both a the same time.

"Stay away from her!" Kyo and Yuki said together.

"I can't tell whether this is horrible or wonderful!" Tohru said, unfazed by Shigure's antics. She went over to hug Yuki. Kyo felt something burning in the pit of his stomach. Jealousy, perhaps?

THe feeling subsided when she came over and gave him the same treatment. She giggled and whispered in his ear.

"Kyo... are you purring?" she asked so that neither of the others could hear. He flushed.

"No!" he shouted. The other two looked at him in confusion, but he planned to never talk of that exchange ever again. Tohru, still grinning, let him go, only to stumble.

"You're still sick! Get back in bed and drink your stew!" Kyo said, and chased her back upstairs. Once he saw that she was situated, he went back downstairs.

"Let's call Hatori," Kyo suggested. Shigure nodded and picked up the phone.

"Moshi moshi?" Hatori said, answering the phone.

"Hari! We need you over here, now! Tohru's sick! Okay, bye!" Shigure said, and quickly slammed the phone down before Hatori could ask any questions.

"You didn't tell him?" Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow. Shigure chuckled evilly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"I want to watch him find out all on his own! BWAHAHAHA!" Shigure replied. Kyo and Yuki sighed. Nothing to do now but wait for Hatori to show up.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Kyo ran to let Hatori in. Unsurprisingly, Momiji, Haru, Rin, and even Kagura came in behind him.

"Tohru ist krank!? Ist sie okay!?" Momiji asked worriedly. Yuki was able to guess what he was saying.

"I think that she's flustered by some... recent developments," Yuki said. "But I'm sure she'll be fine in no time." Momiji frowned.

"She's sick because of what happened to Kisa, huh?" Momiji asked sadly. Technically, yes. Kyo thought. That's why she was on the roof...

"She's taking it pretty hard, but Kisa left something with her that will let Tohru keep her close to her heart," Yuki said. Funny way of putting it, ratboy. Thought Kyo.

"Really? What?" Haru asked, looking surprised. Kyo intervened.

"What are we sitting around talking about this for? Tohru's sick!" Kyo said Hatori nodded and went upstairs, and Momiji and Haru followed. Rin and Kagura followed Yuki into the living room, but Kyo followed the others up into Tohru's room.

"Oh, I didn't think everyone was coming! I didn't even know they called! I hope it's no trouble..." Tohru said, but was silenced by a look from Hatori.

'We just wanted to make sure you're okay, Tohru!" Momiji said. He was about to hug her, but Haru grabbed him.

"We don't need you transforming right now, Momiji," Haru said monotonously. Tohru was about to say something, but Kyo, who was standing behind the others, shook his head, looking her straight in the eyes. She nodded her understanding and stayed silent.

Hatori shined a light in her eye, listened to her lungs, and finally determined that it would be best to give her a simple injection and let her rest for the remainder of the day, and then after that she should be fine.

He pulled out the needle and gave Tohru the shot. Momiji watched carefully, reminding Hatori to 'stop if it hurts her.' Tohru insisted that it didn't hurt a bit.

"Once the medicine kicks in, you'll probably feel weak for a while, but that should wear off quickly. Drink plenty of water, okay? Also, stay warm. I wouldn't suggest moving around too much, either, alright?" Hatori instructed. Tohru nodded obediently.

"I think the medicine is kicking in already..." Tohru said.

"Wait, you said that it would make her feel weak, right?" Kyo said. Hatori nodded.

"Yes, but it's nothing too bad, and she shouldn't expend energy anyway-"

POOF!

A cloud of pink smoke filled the room. Shigure and Yuki ran up, knowing what had happened, and Rin and Kagura followed Yuki, curious to see what had excited him. The smoke cleared slowly, and sure enough, Tohru's form had changed again.

"Surprise!" Tohru exclaimed brightly as everyone gaped at her. Shiure started to bust a gut over everyone's shocked expressions. Hatori was the first to compose himself. He knew, just as Shigure did, the truth about the curse.

"But... but... That's impossible!" Rin said, wide-eyed.

"Well, obviously not, because you'll looking at it," Haru said weakly.

"So I won't transform!" Momiji said after a moment, and picked Tohru up and squeezed her. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"How long has she been like this?" Hatori asked quietly.

"At least since last night," Kyo said. Everyone looked at him and he'd realized how that must've sounded. "NOT LIKE THAT, OKAY!" he exclaimed angrily. Shigure laughed.

"Although you should've seen him earlier this morning! He carried her into the kitchen to show us that she'd transformed, and she changed back in his arms! It was priceless!" Shigure said, tears of mirth streaming down his face. Kyo's face was getting even redder than his hair. Haru busted up laughing.

"I would've given anything to see that! The look on Kyo;s face, I mean!" he added quickly as Rin and Kyo both shot him the death glare, which Kagura was currently aiming at Tohru. Yuki sighed, shaking his head.

Momiji put Tohru down, and she wiggled back under the blankets just in time. There was another loud POOF, and Tohru was herself again, covered, thankfully, by her blankets.

"Come on, let's give her some space. There's no way she'll heal with all these people crowded in here," Yuki said, and everyone filed out of the room.

Hatori took the others home, then, and Shigure's house was once again left to the normal inhabitants. When afternoon came, Shigure got another phone call, this time from worried friends desperate for news.

"Moshi moshi? No, don't worry about her, she's fine. The news was bad, and she worried herself sick. It's only a cold. We're taking good care of her. I suppose, if you insist. I thought you might. I'll make snacks. See you soon!" and with that, he hung up. "High school girls, high school girls, all for me, high school girls!" he sang quietly to himself as he walked away from the phone.

"That was Tohru's friends. THey wanted to know why she wasn't at school today, and now they're coming over to check on her! Kyo, go make snacks!" Shigure instructed.

"Hey, why do I gotta do it! I have very good hearing, you know, and I could've sworn you said you were going to make them!" Kyo retorted. Shigure sighed, then trudged reluctantly into the kitchen.

"Now we just have to hope she doesn't transform again while Uo and Hana are here..." Yuki said with a frown.

"The side effects of the medicine will have worn off by now," Kyo said. "It'll be fine. I'll go tell Tohru they're coming."

He walked upstairs and knocked, then walked in when Tohru answered.

"I thought you'd want to know that Uo and Hana are coming over to see you. They were worried when you didn't show up at school," Kyo told her.

"Oh! I hope I didn't cause them any trouble. I have no right to worry people, and I'm such a burden on everyone," Tohru despaired, freaking out slightly as she sat up in bed.

"How many times do we have to tell you that we worry about you because we love you, Tohru! Wow, that came out weird sounding. And you're not a burden!" Kyo said, flushing slightly. He almost hoped that she'd heard his hidden message in what he'd accidentally said, but most of him would've died of embarrassment. We love you... I love you...

"I just feel like I don't do enough. I mean, you guys were so kind to take me in, and I feel like I've just made life harder for you. I just wish I could do something to make life better for you," Tohru said, looking down. Without thinking, Kyo grabbed her chin firmly in his hand and tilted her head so that she was looking him straight in the eye.

"There's nothing you can do to make life better," he said forcefully, and Tohru frowned sadly. "Because you being here has already made it perfect," he finished fervently, his face now inches from hers. She was shocked. The urge to kiss her built up, but Kyo resisted. Just as he was about to pull away, however, Tohru closed the gap, throwing her arms around him. He took his hand from under her chin and put his arms around her waist. She likes me back! She's kissing me!

"Tohru, they're here-" Shigure said, but shut up when he walked into the doorway. The two teens was a bit too *cough* preoccupied to notice him, so he quickly ran downstairs, told Uo and Hana to wait, grabbed his phone, and ran back upstairs, where Kyo and Tohru were still intertwined. He quickly snapped a few photos and sent them to Ayame and Hatori with the message, 'Finally!'

Kyo and Tohru broke apart, flushing, and Shigure backed out before they could notice him, then ran downstairs to get Uo and Hana.

"She's ready for you!" Shigure sang, waiting eagerly for his friends' responding texts, and ran off to show Yuki the picture.

Uo and Hana walked quickly upstairs, where Kyo and Tohru were silently sitting and blushing, each trying to find something to say and screaming in their heads.

"Tohru! Not you too!" Hana said despairingly. Tohru was shaken out of the awkward silence, and Kyo bolted out of the room to go think- you'll never guess- on the roof.

"What?" Tohru asked Hana, who was leaning on Uo for support.

"Something about my waves suddenly changing. She noticed it this morning, but I don't know what she's talking about. I don't feel any different. So Tohru, too, huh, Hana?" Uo asked. Hana nodded.

"It's worrisome. I'm not sure what could've caused it. All I know is that your waves suddenly resemble the Sohma's. It's the same feeling, like there's just something... off," Hana tried to explain. Uo shrugged.

"Well, that's not why we came. Are you alright? What happened yesterday?" Uo asked, sitting down beside Tohru on her bed. Tohru started crying again, and Uo panicked.

"I'm sorry, Tohru! You don't have to talk about it! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Uo said, pulling Tohru into her shoulder. Tohru shook her head.

"It's alright, Uo. It's just so awful. And even worse, it was actually this morning. Two of Kyo and Yuki's grade-school cousins were killed in a car accident, and they were just... so young... and..." she couldn't continue beyond that.

"Oh, man, Tohru. And on the anniversary, too! Speaking of that, are you feeling alright to go, or should we call it off? When you're feeling better, maybe?" Uo asked. Tohru resolutely threw the blankets off.

"THere's no way I'm letting a petty cold keep me from visiting Mom's grave!" Tohru said determinedly. Shakily, she stood up and grabbed clothes out of her dresser. Uo and Hana left her room to let her change, then walked back in to find Tohru in a simple black dress with a shawl over her shoulders. She'd replaced her usually bright hair ribbons with black ones.

"Let's go!" Tohru said, and began walking towards the door of her room. Shigure and Yuki were in the kitchen making dinner, or more accurately putting out a small fire (never let Yuki near food; something always burns). While they were distracted, the three girls slipped out quietly through the front door.

"If you need help walking, Tohru, just let me know, okay? I can always carry you on my back," Uo said.

"I admire your dedication and love for your mother, Tohru. Especially in light of the more recent tragedies you've had to endure," Hana said, putting a hand on Tohru's shoulder. She smiled weakly back.

"Tohru, what are you doing out of bed!?" Kyo asked, walking up behind them quietly. He'd spotted them on their way out the door from his perch on the roof, and had jumped off the roof to go after them (cats always land on their feet). Tohru flinched and turned around.

"I have to do see Mom! I don't care what you say, I'm still going!" Tohru said resolutely. Kyo sighed.

"You're awfully stubborn for a people pleaser, you know that? Let's go, then," Kyo said, picking Tohru up and carrying her like a baby. "There's no way she's walking all the way there in this condition!" Kyo replied to looks from Uo and Hana, both of whom raised an eyebrow suggestively when Tohru, who was facing away from them, put her arms around Kyo's neck. He flushed slightly and determinedly ignored them, instead focusing on the girl in his arms.

The walk to the cemetery was long, but Kyo didn't mind. Tohru wasn't heavy, and he had to admit that he liked holding her, especially since she still hadn't let go of his neck. She'd settled her head against his chest, like that night, and Kyo received a few more covert sly looks from Tohru's friends.

When they got there, Kyo set Tohru down in front of the grave gently, and supported her while she stood there and placed some flowers she'd made Kyo stop while she picked.

"Hi Mom. I miss you," Tohru said, kneeling in front of the grave and putting her head against it, closing her eyes. After a few minutes, Tohru grabbed Kyo's arm and rose unsteadily to her feet.

"Thanks for coming, you guys," Tohru said, starting to go pale. Kyo picked hre up again.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you out of the house! You're getting worse!" Kyo said. Tohru didn't hear beyond the first few words, however, because she fell asleep in Kyo's arms, exhaustion taking over. Crap! Thought Kyo. At this rate, she'll transform! I do NOT want to have to try explaining that!

"Well, I should really take her home... See you guys at school next week, okay?" Kyo said, turning to run Tohru home.

"All right. Hey, Orangetop!" Uo said, stoppin Kyo. "Any idea why Tohru's 'waves' have changed or whatever?" Kyo laughed nervously.

"Nope, no idea," he lied. "Well, I'd better get her home before she gets even worse!"

"You're nervous. What are you trying to hide? Hana asked, staring at him straight on with those soulless eyes of hers.

"Noth-" POOF. CRAP! Kyo spun around, trying to hide Tohru from her friends' sights, but he wasn't helped by the fact that her clothes had dropped to the ground, as she was now too small to fit into the,.

"What was that smoke! Where'd Tohru go- hey wait are those her clothes!?" Uo asked, pointing. Kyo scrambled to cover up what had happened.

"No, you see..." he started, but couldn't think of anything on the spot. While he was fishing for words, Yuki showed up with a peeved expression on his face.

"Great going, stupid cat. You shouldn't have let her out in the first place. Now we have to try and explain everything to them. You'd better hope that Akito doesn't find out, or we'll all be in for it. At least we know he won't erase Tohru's memories, now that she's part of the zodiac," Yuki said. He grabbed Tohru's friends by their shoulders.

"We'll explain things back at the house," Yuki told them, and steered them back towards Shigure's.

"How'd you find us?" Kyo asked, walking behind him after grabbing Tohru's clothes off of the ground.

"She wasn't in her room, it's May first. Not the hardest deduction," Yuki scoffed.

"You just left Tohru at the cemetery, are you insane!?" Uo asked angrily. "And where the heck did you find a baby tiger!?"

"Uo, Tohru's waves are still here. I can't explain it, but they seem to be emenating from the tider," Hana said, staring at Tohru intently as they came back to the house and slipped inside.

"Shigure! We need to tell them!" Yuki called. Shigure walked out into the hallway.

"What happened?" Shigure asked.

"Use your eyes, dog. She transformed!" Kyo snapped. He hurried to set her down on the couch before grabbing a blanket to but over her in case she transformed.

"What do you mean, transformed?" Uo asked, glancing between the three males.

"Well, you see..." Shigure started, leading them over to the couch opposite Tohru's still sleeping form. He explained as best he could, but Uo just looked at him with increasingly worried and skeptical looks on her face. Hana's face remained unchanging and thoughtful.

"That's impossible! You're all insa-" POOF! Tohru changed back, cutting off Uo's protests effectively and making her gape like a fish.

"Although, now that I think about it, that would explain a few things," Hana said. "I always said the Sohma's waves were strange."

"But this is just... crazy! And Tohru's known about this the whole time she's been here!?" Uo asked, regaining a little bit of her composure. They all nodded.

"Though, if you want to get really specific she didn't find out until the second day," Shigure commented.

"So... You turn into animals when you get hugged or you're weak and stressed, right?" Uo asked, trying to get her facts straight.

"That's pretty much it. that sleepover you guys had was hard to navigate to say the least..." Yuki said with a smile. Uo and Hana exchanged looks, and both stood up simultaneously.

"What's wrong with you two?" Kyo asked. They remained silent, walked up to the boys, and hugged all three of them, Hana hugging Kyo and Shigure, and Uo hugging Yuki. POOF. POOF. Kyo and Shigure changed into their animal forms. Shigure sighed, but of course Kyo went over the top.

"Why the heck did you have to go and do that!? You couldn't just take our word for it!?" Kyo yelled. Uo frowned, poking Yuki.

"Hana, I think this one's broken," Uo said. He hadn't transformed. yuki looked at her, then at the two animals.

"You don't think...?" he asked.

"No freaking way on earth, rat boy!" Kyo screamed.

"Like I said earlier, who spends more tims with the zodiac than anyone else? Tohru and her friends," Shigure said with a shrug. "Makes sense to me."

"Hana, you said Uo's waves had changed, too, right?" Yuki asked. Hana nodded slowly, beginning to catch on. Uo, however, was completely clueless.

"What are you guys spewing!? What has any of this got to do with my 'waves'?" Uo asked.

"We have no proof, though! We'll just have to wait and see if she ever gets weak enough. In the meantime, though, Uo, don't hug anyone," Yuki warned.

"Why?" Uo asked, hands on her hips.

"Listen to them, Uo," Hana instructed. Then she turned to Yuki. "If it's a manner of making her feel weak, she gets very weak when tired. If it would help, the two of us could stay here the night and I could keep her awake. If she hasn't done it by morning, she's not going to."

"WHy the crap would you do that!?" Uo asked heatedly, though the answer was alrady dawning on her. Senseing this, the others ignored her question.

"But then you'd have to stay up, too, Hana. I don't want to keep you up for such a silly reason," Shigure said.

"Don't worry about it. I don't sleep," Hana replied, and dragged Uo up to Tohru's room, leaving Tohru on the couch, covered only by the blanket. Kyo and Shigure changed back and got dressed, and Shigure went upstairs to ask them to take Tohru with them and get her dressed.

"So, Shigure showed me an interesting picture," Yuki started casually. Kyo looked at him, startled.

"Do I even want to know what crap he's been showing you?" Kyo asked with a sigh. Yuki smirked.

"You didn't seem to think it was 'crap'. In fact, you looked like you were rather enjoying yourself," Yuki told him, trying to hold back laughter at the look on Kyo's face. Kyo was getting more worried by the second.

"WHAT DID HE SHOW YOU!?" Kyo asked, grabbing the front of Yukis shirt. Yuki grabbed Shigure's phone off of the coffee table and flipped it open with a grin on his face.

"I don't even have to look for it; he's already made it his wallpaper!" Yuki said, giving in and chuckling. Kyo saw the picture adn started bluushing madly.

"WHEN DID HE TAKE A PICTURE OF THA!?" Kyo yelled, his face reddening even more when he noticed that Shigure had two new text messages in reply to sending out the picture.

"HE SENT IT TO AYAME AND HATORI!?" he asked. He clicked on the response from Hatori, first, half dreading what he'd see.

Shigure, I'm not evn sure I want to know why you were in Tohru's room with a camera-phone. Also, it's really none of our business. Although honestly, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner...

P.S. You'd better get your bucket list out of the way before Kyo finds out.

Twitching in anger, he read the one from Ayame. Yuki was still laughing at him.

Why isn't he transforming? But that's beside the point! THEY'RE SO CUTE! I'll have to make Tohru a dress to celebrate the two lovebirds finally getting together! Ask Kyonkichi if he has any requests! ;)

"Why is it that no one seems surprised at all?" Kyo muttered under his breath darkly.

"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!" Kyo yelled at Yuki, who managed to stifle his laugh, with some difficulty. (sorry for OoC, Kyo needed to be mad...)

"Well, I suppose that there have to be a few upsides to Tohru getting cursed, right?" Yuki asked, still smiling. Before Kyo could go postal on him, Yuki walked upstairs to his room. Kyo sighed and was about to follow him what he was blindfolded and gagged from behind. His attacker began dragging him away. Kyo struggled, but his assailant had tied his hands, so he couldn't do anything.

"Honestly, Kyonkichi! Stop stuggling! This is a present, you know!" That voice... oh no... Ayame threw Kyo into the back seat of the car, and Kyo was taken promptly to Ayame's sho.

"Stupid Shigure was taking far too long to respond to my text, and I need to get started on the dress so she can wear it on your first date!" Ayame said from the front seat. Kyo's protests were cut off by the gag, though it didn't do anything about his blush. Once Ayame had dragged Kyo into the shop and locked the dor, his bindings were taken off.

"What the crap, Ayame! You can't just freaking kidnap me and get away with it!" Kyo said angirly. "And who said anything about Tohru and I dating! It was a spur of the moment thing, okay!?"

"Oh, but deep inside you, you know you want the spur of the moment thing to repeat itself! You cannot dismiss the budding love inside of you! You're already having romantic fantasies, aren't you!? You must act on those feelings..." Kyo stopped listening. Why did it have to be me!?

"So help me design the dress, okay?" Ayame finished, pulling out rolls of fabric.

"Desig your own stupid dress, Ayame! It's got nothing to do with me!" Kyo said angrily, trying to jimmy the lock to get out of there.

"Are you sure you want to let me design it?" Ayame asked, getting an evil glint in his eye. Kyo sweat a little.

"Heck no, I don't even want the dress in the first place, idiot!" Kyo yelled.

"Then I'll go make it myself..." Ayame said with a shrug and a smirk, turning around.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Kyo screamed.

"So you'll help, then? Wonderful! So let's talk color!" Ayame said. Kyo groaned.

Back at the house, Shigure picked up his phone to find he'd gotten another text from Ayame.

Don't worry about Kyo, he's with me! I'm making him help me design Tohru's dress! Let's see how long it takes him to give it! ;)

Oh, Ayame... Shigure thought, shaking his head.

With an indifferent shrug, he went to his room and the house was overtaken with sleep, excepting the two teen girls in Tohru's room who didn't actually live there.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter two! There will probably be one more chapter, and I'll try to make each as long as the first one was. We'll have to see!

* * *

POOF! The silence of the house was disturbed at around two in the morning or so, waking everyone but Tohru, who, despite being right next to the source of the noise, was still out cold. Kyo still hadn't come back.

Yuki and Shigure got up and walked to Tohru's room. Knocking, they entered to see Hana standing triumphantly over Uo, who had indeed transformed, and was frozen in shock.

"So we were right about that, at least. Like we said, don't hug anyone. Well, I'm going back to sleep. You two should, as well," Shigure said, turning to leave.

"I already told you," Hana said, going over and sitting on the bed. "I don't sleep."

Shigure and Yuki made a run for their rooms, and soon the house was once again –almost- taken over by sleep.

(Earlier that night, in Ayame's shop)

"I don't want to design a stupid dress, okay!?" Kyo said, leaning against a wall stubbornly. Ayame thought for a moment.

"But I just don't think that pants and a top are Tohru's style, Kyo," Ayame said.

"YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Kyo screamed, vein pulsing.

"I told you earlier, Kyo, you're not leaving without a design made," Ayame said. "And you still haven't told me colors!"

"Pick your own stupid colors!" Kyo said tiredly, collapsing on a couch. Ayame frowned. Suddenly, an idea clicked in his head.

"Wait right here, Kyo, I'll only be gone for a few!" Ayame said, darting out the door and locking behind him again.

"Wait!" Kyo said, but it was too late. _A few what!?_

**Several hours later…**

"Kyo! I'm ba-ack!" Ayame sang, holding a small bag in his hand. Kyo, who had been taking a cat-nap on the couch, started at the sound of his voice.

"Great, you're back. Now LET ME OUT!" Kyo said angrily. He noticed a clock. "And back in a few? A few hours, maybe!"

"Well, it took me a long time to find a store that had what I was looking for that was still open!" Ayame said defensively. "Anyway, I'm going to go make some tea!" With that, he disappeared into the back room, clutching the bag. Kyo sighed. Would this torture never end!?

Ayame chuckled evilly, taking his secret weapon out of his bag. He'd originally thought to get Kyo drunk, but as it was illegal, he decided against that particular plan of action. But then he remembered… _Kyo's a cat!_

Putting water on the stove to boil, Ayame took out a teabag full of catnip for Kyo and some Japanese tea leaves for himself. Within minutes, the tea was done, so he carried it out to the bored and annoyed Kyo.

"Here, drink this," Ayame said cheerfully, shoving the tea at Kyo. He looked at it skeptically.

"What's this?" Kyo asked, holding it away from himself suspiciously.

"It's tea, Kyo, honestly. I would've thought you'd know what tea looked like!" Ayame said in mock distress. Kyo sighed, shook his head, and sipped the tea. A visible jolt went through him, and his pupils dilated. He looked at his tea, and a sloppy grin appeared on his face.

"That's pretty good. I like the smell more than the taste, though. I'm jus' gonna sniff it," Kyo said drunkenly, leaning back. Ayame grinned._ It's working! And a lot faster than expected!_

"So about the color of Tohru's dress, I was thinking, blue maybe?" Ayame asked innocently, knowing Kyo hated blue.

"Don't you dare put her in rat boy's color, man! She should be in orange- and pink," Kyo said, inhaling the tea deeply. _Victory is mine!_ Ayame thought walking over to the rack of fabrics.

"These two? Ayame asked, pulling out two rolls. Kyo shook his head shakily, still breathing in his tea like a drug.

"The orange is good, but I think that that pink needs to be darker, you know?" Kyo said, making vague gestures with his hand. _I scare even myself sometimes. And I can honestly say I never expected Kyo to act like this, high on catnip or not!_

"So, like this?" Ayame asked, pulling out a different shade of pink.

"Two thumbs up!" Kyo said, grinning again. He attempted to act out his expression, and as a result, his tea sloshed out of the cup all over his leg and the couch.

"Whoops!"

**The next morning, after another cup of catnip tea and some coffee to keep Ayame awake.**

"I think it's done, Kyo, what do you think!?" Ayame asked, holding up his completed sketch. Kyo looked at it through squinted eyes.

"What if we made the skirt poofier and covered the orange stuff with pinkish see-through kinda stuff?" Kyo asked, his eyes still dilated, if not even more so. "'Cause it kinda ties it together more, y'know?" he asked.

"I like your thinking, Kyo! And what if we puffed the sleeves, just a bit?" Ayame suggested. Kyo nodded enthusiastically.

"Now it can be done!? Can I take some of this home with me?" he asked, looking at the tea. Ayame shrugged.

"I'll probably never need it again, so sure, take it! I'll finish the dress by Monday, I think, so have a date planned for afterschool on Tuesday, okay?" Ayame said, pushing Kyo out the door with the box of catnip teabags.

"Mm-kay, Ayame! Heh, that rhymed!" he said, chuckling to himself. _Kyo is going to be sooo mad at me when this wears off…_

"Oookay, Kyo. Let's get you back to Shigure's. My work is done!" Ayame said, and shoved Kyo into the back seat of the car. By the time they got to Shigure's, Kyo had passed out in the back of the car. Ayame left him there and went in to find Shigure to help him carry Kyo inside.

"Shigure! I brought back my captive!" Ayame cried. Shigure came darting out of the kitchen.

"Ayame! You survived the night! I'm impressed! Where's Kyo?" Shigure asked. Yuki walked up behind him.

"I hadn't even noticed he was gone. And why is _he_ here?" Yuki asked, his eyes narrowing at his older brother.

"Yuki! It's so good to see you! I came because, deep in my bosom, I had the intense desire to come and visit my dear younger brother. Well, actually I came to bring Kyo back! I was the one to kidnap him, you see! I needed his help designing a dress for Tohru on their first date!" Ayame said excitedly.

"Wait… they're actually dating!?" Yuki asked, surprised.

"Well… I did tell him to plan on it, but honestly, he might not remember any of last night anyway, so one of you should probably remind him when he wakes up, okay?" Ayame said with a wide smile.

"What did you do to him that he won't remember?" Shigure asked suspiciously. "Aya, you didn't hurt him did you?"

"Well, Kyo wasn't cooperating, I had to do something! So… I thought… and then I got him drunk!" Ayame declared. "Isn't it brilliant!?"

"You did WHAT!?" Yuki asked, face-palming. "That's illegal, you idiot!"

"Well I didn't use alcohol, so technically I did nothing wrong! And even if I had used an alchoholic beverage, love conquers all, even laws, so all my actions would have been completely justified!" Ayame said defensively.

"Just out of interest, how did you get him drunk and what happened to his personality?" Shigure asked, quickly pulling out a notebook and pencil and getting a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Catnip! Brilliant, isn't it!? I made it in some tea and he really did seem drunk! He was completely different! I don't even know where to begin!" Ayame said cheerfully. Shigure began laughing heartily.

"I even brought it here, so feel free to see for yourself! Slip it into his food or something! It's quite entertaining! But anyway, come help me carry him in, okay?" Ayame said, and dragged Shigure out to his car.

_Catnip?_ Yuki mouthed, smirking and shaking his head. _Interesting…_ he went back into the kitchen, where the three girls were sitting around the table. Uo hadn't said a word all morning, still in shock from last night. Tohru kept insisting that she felt better, so she was on a trial run.

"Yuki! Did I hear Ayame just now?" Tohru asked from the stove, where she was preparing breakfast.

"Yeah, that was him. He brought the stupid cat back. Apparently Ayame kidnapped him last night for something…" Yuki said, deciding not to give away what they'd been doing.

"I was wondering where he'd went!" Tohru said.

"Who is this Ayame?" Hana asked. Her question was answered by Ayame bursting into the room with Yuki in tow, Shigure following quietly, Kyo dumped safely onto the couch in the other room.

"Oh, and who are these beautiful young ladies!? Friends of Tohru's, I presume?" Ayame asked, bending over to get a better look at them. Uo spoke for the first time that day.

"He looks like an older version of Yuki!" she exclaimed.

"That's because they're siblings, Uo," Hana said monotonously. Ayame looked at her.

"How did you know? Do we give off that brotherly love vibe? We do, don't we!?" Ayame asked cheerfully, swinging his arm around Yuki's shoulders before getting thrown off.

"No, I read electrical waves. Your two were close enough that you were either father and son or brothers, and you don't look old enough to be his father," Hana said.

"Ayame, this is Uo and Hana. And you're right, they are friends of Tohru's. Uo here got cursed, too!" Shigure said. Ayame was shocked.

"Cursed!? When did that happen!?" Ayame asked.

"Oh that's right, no one told you! Well, Torhu got possessed by the tiger, and Uo here got the sheep," Shigure said. For once, Ayame was stunned out of speech.

"And I finally know why the Sohma's waves are different," Hana said. "So you are also cursed, I take it?" Ayame nodded enthusiastically.

"I, dear girl, am the snake! Yuki and I are the only direct relatives who both got cursed, isn't it tragic? But that is a fact that draws us closer as brothers, and we a nearly inseparable!" Ayame declared. Yuki scoffed.

"In your dreams," he muttered. Tohru walked over with breakfast.

"Good thing I made sure to make extra, if Ayame is going to be eating with us!" Tohru said happily.

"He's not staying," Yuki said forcefully. Ayame started to argue, but Yuki cut him off. "Do you really want to be here when Kyo wakes up?" Ayame paled slightly.

"Well, I suppose I'd best be off. Besides, I have a dress I have to make!" Ayame said, and bolted for the door.

"Bye, Ayame! I'll miss you!" Shigure said, shooting Ayame a thumbs up as he went out the door.

"Don't forget about me while I'm away!" Ayame said, returning the thumbs up and hopping into his car.

Several minutes after Ayame left and everyone sat down to a quiet breakfast, a tired and cranky-looking Kyo walked in, holding his head.

"What the heck happened last night and why do I have such an awful headache? The last thing I remember is Ayame bolting out the door of his shop to go buy some random crap from the store," Kyo said.

"Really? Well, you're back now, that's what matters!" Shigure said, trying to change the subject before Tohru could ask why he'd been at Ayame's shop.

After everyone had finished eating, Uo and Hana went to school.

"Don't forget not to hug anyone, Uo! Hana, keep an eye on her!" Shigure said, waving with a handkerchief as they walked off. Tohru came down in her uniform, but Kyo grabbed her by the arm.

"I told you, you're not going back to school until next week, sick or not," Kyo said, shaking his head. Tohru sighed.

"Well, I have a meeting with my editor and am spontaneously deciding to be nice for once and not skip! Oh, and I'll probably have to go visit Akito. There have been some recent changes I think our dear family head might want to know about!" Shigure said, hurrying into his room, coming out seconds later in a suit, and bolting out the door. Yuki sat at the table in an awkward silence between Kyo and Tohru, and the air was becoming heavier by the second.

"I'm going to go out back," Yuki said, quickly, and disappeared to go do some major gardening, possibly until he knew with certainty that Shigure was back. Kyo narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the door Yuki had left through, then winced and groaned, putting a hand to his aching head. Tohru stood up quickly.

"Oh, Kyo, your headache! Can I get you anything!? I wouldn't want you to spend all day in pain, and maybe the headache is the beginning of something worse, and it's always better to treat things like this early!" Tohru exclaimed. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Don't be stupid, it's just a headache, Tohru. Well, and memory loss," Kyo said thoughtfully.

"You said something about being at Ayame's?" Tohru asked. Kyo stiffened, realizing that he'd rather she wasn't asking questions about that.

"Uh… yeah. He took me to his shop last night after a stupid text from Shigure, but I really can't remember what happened…" Kyo said vaguely.

"Oh. Well maybe you can ask Ayame or Shigure later," Tohru said. Kyo shrugged.

"So… um…" Kyo said awkwardly. He couldn't help remembering the last time they were alone together. Tohru seemed to remember too, because she didn't try to break the awkward silence, and was turning scarlet, staring resolutely at the floor.

_He probably hates me now! Oh, mom, I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I kissed him! I've ruined our friendship, I don't know what to do! But he was just so close, and he was being sweet, and…_

"About yesterday…" Kyo continued slowly, trying to think of what to say. Should he tell her how he felt, or was it too soon for that? Should he make a joke of it, or would that just make it even more awkward? Tohru cut him off.

"I'm so sorry!" she squeaked, hiding her face in her hands. Kyo looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you sorry about?" Kyo asked incredulously. Tohru looked through her fingers at him.

"It's all my fault, and now things are so awkward. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? Let's just forget about it and move on, okay? Forgive me?" Tohru cried.

"Why in the world would I want to forget?" Kyo asked, reddening and scratching the back of his head. Tohru looked up at him.

"Huh?" she asked.

"It was… nice," Kyo said, not looking her in the eye. Tohru couldn't think of anything to say to that. She wasn't even completely sure what he was implying. That he was glad it happened? Or was he simply trying not to hurt her feelings? Should she confess hers?

"Uh… roof," Kyo said quickly, and dashed up the stairs. Tohru sat there for a moment before going off to do laundry and try to distract herself.

Unfortunately, Tohru completely forgot, in all the tension, that she was sick, and overdid herself just a little bit a lot.

POOF!

Suddenly finding herself much smaller and a great deal furrier, Tohru sighed. A small tiger couldn't exactly do much in the way of household chores, and there was no telling how long it would take her to change back, especially because she was still sick. It could be hours for all she knew, based on her observations of the three Sohma men during illnesses.

She didn't know what else to do, so she thought that the best thing to do might be to go to bed and try to sleep a little. Rest was always a good way to heal faster, and she wouldn't be going anywhere until she was sure she wouldn't transform. She struggled to get up the stairs, finding that the experience was much different on four legs than on two. She was determined, though, and eventually made it to the top. Unfortunately, she realized, the door to her room was closed.

She was too tired to try and struggle her way back downstairs, but she couldn't go to bed, because she was too short to reach the doorknob, and even if she could she didn't have opposable thumbs. She walked down the hall and noticed that Kyo's room was open. _He must have left the door open when he went through to the balcony to go onto the roof, _Tohru thought. Sure enough, the door onto the balcony was also open. She padded her way out.

"Kyo?" she called. Up on the roof, Kyo heard her and walked over to the area above the balcony.

"Yeah?" he asked before he got to the edge. He jumped down onto the balcony and saw her transformed state. "What happened!?"

"I pushed myself a bit too hard doing laundry, I guess. Um… could you open my bedroom door for me? I was going to lay down, but I can't get in," Tohru asked. Kyo smiled down at her.

"No worries, I have that same problem when a rainstorm makes me transform," Kyo replied, and picked Tohru up, carrying her to her room and setting her on the bed.

"Anything else?" Kyo asked, glad that at least some of the awkwardness was gone.

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly ask you to help any more than you already have, it'd be too much!" Tohru started freaking out.

"Okay, Tohru, chill! Get some rest, okay?" Kyo asked. Tohru nodded and curled up on top of the blankets like the feline she was. Kyo left the room and closed the door behind him, then went out to train, since he couldn't think of anything else to pass the time with.

Meanwhile, Shigure, the liar that he was, had not, as he'd said, gone to a meeting with his editor. Not that he was being mean, for once, he just didn't have one. Instead, he'd gone over to Ayame's shop to see the sketch for the dress and to make fun of Kyo.

"Kyo seriously helped design this!?" Shigure asked, laughing hysterically. Ayame nodded gleefully.

"Most of the details were his idea, too! He would make a very good designer!" Ayame laughed. Shigure wheezed.

"Yeah, I can see it now…" he chuckled evilly, imagining Kyo with his hair slicked back, fabric scissors in one hand and a tape measure in the other. "It's not happening." Shigure giggled at his absurd mental image.

"No, I suppose not," Ayame grinned. "But the dress will go to waste unless you remind him to ask her out on Tuesday!"

"Wouldn't it be easier to give him catnip and see if he'll ask her out then?" Shigure whined.

"He'd just forget he'd asked her, though," Ayame reminded him.

"Not if we just used enough to make him tipsy!" Shigure replied mischievously.

"You may be on to something, Shigure!" Ayame praised. "It certainly can't hurt to try!"

"Besides, even if it doesn't work, based on what you've told me, it's sure to be amusing!" Shigure cackled.

"Indeed, you're right! Won't you catch it on video for my so I may partake in the hilarity as well, Shigure?" Ayame requested.

"Sure, Aya. I would've got it on video anyway," Shigure assured him. "Well, I've got one more place to stop off before I head home, so I'd better get going. Good luck getting the dress done, Aya!"

"Goodbye, Shigure! I will miss you terribly!" Ayame said, flower petals drifting behind him out of nowhere, bathed in pink light. Shigure, with a similar background, replied.

"Our time apart will be short, Aya. I'll hurry back to you," Shigure replied.

"Yes!" they both exclaimed, giving a thumbs up. Shigure left and began making his way to the main house while Ayame went back to work creating his masterpiece.

"Akito, Shigure has come to visit you," one of the servants announced, knocking on the door to Akito's room.

"Send him in," Akito ordered. Seconds later, Shigure walked in.

"I suppose you've come to tell me who the new tiger and ram are?" Akito asked coldly. "I can feel it. Their spirits haven't left me."

"I'm surprised you can tell. I didn't know you could sense the zodiac spirits" Shigure replied calmly.

"Don't avoid the question, Shigure. Who are they" Akito demanded.

"You won't like it," Shigure warned. Akito's eyes flared.

"Why not? They are my zodiac, I love you all. You of all people know that, Shigure," Akito said viciously.

"Funny. It was my impression that you hated them with a passion," Shigure said. "It's Tohru and one of her friends."

"WHAT!?" Akito screamed. He slapped Shigure viciously. "That _witch_ has taken the tiger's spirit!? This is unacceptable!"

"Also," Shigure added calmly, ignoring the stinging sensation on the side of his face. "Their other friend, Saki Hanajimi, has found out as well."

"That is unacceptable. Her memories must be erased at once. And bring the newest members to greet me. I must give them a proper welcome," Akito spat.

"Now, Akito, are you sure that's wise? Hanajimi has some psychic abilities. She may be the key to the curse's undoing. And think of it like this. If Tohru is part of the zodiac with us, she can't go against your orders any more than we can. She won't be able to take us from you," Shigure said, trying to calm Akito down. Thankfully, it worked.

"Perhaps you are correct. On both counts. I will not harm the girls. However, I still request their presence tomorrow. Including this Saki Hanajimi you speak of. I wish to meet this psychic you claim could break the curse," Akito said.

"Of course," Shigure said, bowing. "Goodbye Akito. Goodbye, Kureno." He bowed to the silhouette in the corner of the room, who nodded back. Shigure left the room. As soon as he was outside the main gates, he sighed in relief. That had gone far better than he had hoped.

He went straight home, and found Yuki waiting for him right outside the front door.

"Why are you outside?" Shigure asked. Yuki snorted.

"Because any time those two are alone it gets awkward," Yuki said. "I saw no reason to feel uncomfortable all day while you were gone."

"Yuki, how could you!? What if Kyo does something… _indecent _to our precious flower, Tohru!?"

"Ha! Like he would. He may be an idiot, but thankfully he's not you," Yuki replied. Shigure stuck out his tongue. "Well, let's go inside, I guess."

"I'm home!" Shigure called, walking in the door. Kyo poked his head around the corner out of the living room he'd only just recently returned to after practicing.

"Quiet down, will ya!? Tohru's asleep!" Kyo hissed.

"My, my, rather protective, aren't we, Kyo?

"Shut up, dog," Kyo growled. "She's sick, of course I'm worried."

"I'll go see if she needs anything," Yuki suggested, and was about to go upstairs, but Kyo grabbed his arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Just in case," Kyo said.

"Get off me, stupid cat. Why not?" Yuki asked. Kyo blushed a little.

"She transformed, and she curled up like a cat on top of the blankets. For all we know, she's turned back in her sleep," Kyo replied. Yuki's eyes widened.

"Oh," he replied.

"In that case, I'll go help her instead!" Shigure said cheerfully. After being beaten to a bloody pulp and prying himself off the floorboards, he said, "I went to see Akito."

"What did he say?" Yuki asked.

"He wants to see the three of them tomorrow," Shigure replied.

"All three of them? Saki too?" Yuki asked. Shigure nodded.

"He seems to be interested in her psychic abilities as a possible way to release the curse," Shigure replied.

"You think that's possible?" Kyo asked. "The freak, really?"

"You never know, Kyo! Anyway, we shouldn't get our hopes up! Anyway, Kyo, you should make us some dinner!"

"Why do I gotta do it!?" Kyo asked hotly.

"Well, Tohru's sick, you certainly can't expect _her_ to do it! And Yuki would burn anything he tried. As for me, do you really want the one who puts pickles in curry to be making food?"

"You're an idiot," Kyo said hotly. "Fine, I'll make the stupid food. Geez."

Half an hour later, Kyo had finished making a simple dinner, and set it out just as simply.

"As always, your presentation is lacking," Yuki said with a sigh, taking a bite.

"Shut up, ratboy. At least _I _can cook at all!" Kyo snapped. "I'm going to go take some up to Tohru." Shigure and Yuki looked up at him. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to knock first, you idiots!" Kyo yelled, and picked up the bowl he'd made for Tohru, stomping off upstairs. Shigure grinned evilly.

"Quick, Yuki, go find the camera and set it on video. I'm going to go get the catnip!" Shigure said conspiratorially. Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"Now?" Yuki asked. Shigure nodded and ran to get some. Yuki sighed, found the camera, and set it to video, waiting to start it until something interesting happened. When he got back into the room, Shigure had cut open one of the teabags and sprinkled about a third of it onto Kyo's dinner. Kyo walked downstairs, Tohru's bowl in one hand, and Tohru in the other.

"She still hasn't changed back," Kyo said unnecessarily.

"Obviously. Why'd you bring her down?" Yuki asked.

"She wanted to come down," Kyo replied with a shrug. "I wasn't going to make her fight her way downstairs in this state."

"It was getting boring up there all on my own!" Tohru explained cheerily. "So I thought I'd come down and talk to you guys!"

"What if you change back?" Yuki asked.

"I'll go get her a blanket," Kyo said, and came back seconds later with something Tohru could use to cover herself should she change back.

"Anyway, let's eat!" Shigure said. Yuki got ready to turn the camera on.

POOF!

"Oh! That was fast! I'll go get dressed," Tohru said, blushing a little and wrapping the blanket around herself.

Less than a minute later, she was back downstairs, and they all dug in. It took Kyo exactly two bites to freeze. Yuki pulled out the camera. Kyo's eyes dilated. Suddenly, he broke out a sloppy grin.

"This stuff's pretty good, huh?" Kyo asked. He put his spoon down and started sniffing it.

"Um… Kyo? Are you okay?" Tohru asked. Shigure smirked.

"Oh, he's just fine. I may have slipped some catnip into his food, though," Shigure said.

"So it affects him like it would a normal cat?" Tohru asked. Shigure nodded.

"I'm excited to see what happens!" Shigure cackled.

"Shigure, you shouldn't do that! It's not very nice to trick people! Kyo, get away from… that," Tohru said, grabbing Kyo's bowl away from him. He pouted at her, but she didn't notice, because her attention was focused on the bowl in her hands. Yuki's eyes widened.

"Shigure?"

"Hmm? What is it, Yuki?"

"There's a big flaw in your plan I just noticed. _Miss Honda's a cat, too!"_ Yuki reminded his cousin. Shigure looked taken aback for a second, then glanced hurriedly at Tohru, who was sniffing at the food delicately, her pupils dilating. Kyo tugged the bowl back towards him so he could smell it too.

"Well this could potentially be even better!" Shigure said. "Keep the video rolling!"

"Your nose looks all funny when you sniff," Tohru giggled at Kyo. He grinned.

"I like your eyes that color. It goes well with your hair," Kyo informed her. She blushed.

"And it's cute when you blush," Kyo added, tweaking Tohru's nose.

"At first I thought this would be funny, but seeing the two of them without any of their emotions restrained is kind of making me sick," Yuki commented.

"Quiet, Yuki! This is comedy _gold!_ Kyo will be so mad after this!" Shigure shushed his younger cousin. Yuki rolled his eyes but kept filming.

"I'm not really sorry about yesterday," Tohru whispered conspiratorially.

"Neither am I," he whispered back.

"That's it, Shigure, you take the camera. I'm _not _sticking around for this. When Kyo snaps out of it and tries to do the same to our neck, don't blame me," Yuki said, handing Shigure the camera. He made a hasty retreat up to his room.

"This is good!" he heard Tohru say. He turned back to see Kyo feeding Tohru from his bowl, and had to try very hard not to burst out laughing and distract them.

"You got some on your face," Kyo informed her. He was about to swipe it off, then thought better of it and licked it off her cheek. Shigure choked. Tohru giggled.

_Priceless!_ Shigure thought.

"How do you know I wasn't saving it for later?" Tohru asked.

"I'd be more than happy to give it back to you," Kyo said, and started leaning in. Shigure's eyes widened in anticipation. He grinned wickedly as the two teens kissed.

"Kyo, ask her out!" Shigure prompted, not forgetting his duty to Ayame.

"Want to go somewhere on Tuesday? Just you and me?" Kyo whispered in Tohru's ear. Tohru nuzzled his cheek.

"That sounds wonderful!" she said, brimming with happiness. Shigure smirked. Now he just had to hope that they both remembered what they'd decided on when the catnip wore off.

"Okay, you two. Since we're all done eating, I'll just take the dishes and put them in the sink, okay?" Shigure said. Kyo actually started pouting.

"But this stuff is so good!" he protested, drawing the bowl closer. Shigure grabbed it from him.

"That's enough for today," Shigure insisted. "Besides, I'm sure Yuki would like to be able to enter his own dining room soon." Shigure turned the camera off. "We can have this again some other time!" he promised.

Kyo stuck out his lip like a disappointed toddler, but was soon distracted by Tohru nuzzling him again.

"Now look who's purring," he whispered. Tohru ignored him. Suddenly, without any warning at all on his part, he shot straight up, his pupils suddenly contracting back to normal size.

"SHIGURE, I'M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU!" Kyo screamed. Tohru frowned, stood up behind him, and started nuzzling him again.

"Ah, so you're back to reality now, stupid cat?" Yuki asked, walking in. He frowned at Tohru. "Miss Honda, I take it, is not."

"Ah, Kyo, it wore off! Do you remember?" Shigure asked quickly, poking his head back through the door from the kitchen. Kyo's eyes were burning, and he ignored the question, choosing instead to pummel the dog into the floor.

"Of course he remembers. Why else would he be mad at you?" Yuki pointed out.

"At least his date's been planned," Shigure moaned weakly when Kyo left him face-down on the floor. Tohru, still in her catnip-induced state, latched herself onto Kyo's arm.

"No more leaving me," Tohru instructed, rubbing her face against his upper arm. Kyo froze and stared down at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"What the heck!?" Kyo whisper-yelled at Yuki.

"Tigers are affected by catnip, too, Kyo. A fact Shigure evidently forgot. It should wear off soon. In the meantime, I suggest you enjoy it. Also, I suggest you start planning for Tuesday. You should make it special for her," Yuki said, walking out of the room.

Kyo had only vaguely remembered what had happened, but Yuki's comment snapped his memories of the last few minutes back into place. His eyes widened. Tohru was going to think he was a freak! For once, though, the rat was right. He was _definitely _enjoying this. At least, for the few seconds before Tohru snapped out of it and hurriedly let go of his arm.

"Oh my gosh Kyo I'm so sorry!" Tohru screamed, burying her face in her hands. Kyo's face turned bright red.

"It's not really your fault," Kyo told her. "Besides, I wasn't exactly acting any differently."

Tohru's eyes widened as she remembered what had happened, and she put a hand up to her cheek, turning tomato red.

"Um… this may be a weird question, but did you mean it?" Tohru asked quietly. Kyo stopped blushing and looked at her.

"Mean what?" Kyo asked, eyes narrowing.

"Uh, that you, you know, weren't, um, sorry about, uh, yesterday," Tohru stuttered, wringing her hands together and turning even redder. Kyo's heart was beating fast.

"Oh, that. I… yeah. I meant it," Kyo said, not looking her in the eye. "You?"

"Yeah," Tohru said breathlessly.

"So…" Kyo asked nervously. "Are we still on for Tuesday?" Tohru beamed at him.

"Definitely!" she exclaimed, and hugged him tight as she could. Someone started clapping. Kyo turned around to see Shigure brimming with fake tears, having pushed himself into a sitting position to watch the show.

"Young love! It's so beautiful!" Shigure wailed. Kyo felt like crawling into a hole.

"Shut up!" he snapped, and grabbed Tohru's hand. "Come on, Tohru, you need to get back to bed. I can't take you anywhere unless you're feeling better."

"Y-yes!" Tohru said with a smile, and followed behind him. Yuki walked past them into the room. He looked between Shigure and the two retreating teens.

"So what exactly happened?" Yuki asked.

"Basically, they passionately admitted they loved each other and are dashing off to spend the night together!" Shigure exclaimed.

"Don't be an idiot, Shigure. What _actually _happened?"

"They admitted they weren't sorry for kissing and decided they were still on for Tuesday," Shigure amended with a sigh.

"So _now_ they're dating," Yuki summed up. Shigure grinned at him.

"Jealous?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said, don't be an idiot. Tohru is like a mom to me, or an older sister. Besides, if anyone can change that stupid cat it's her," Yuki said with a shrug. "I'm going to bed."

It didn't take long for the house to fall to silence.

The next day, a Saturday, started off bright and early for everyone except Yuki, who was taking the chance to sleep in, quite possibly for most of the day.

"Tohru, could you come here a moment?" Shigure called sometime between breakfast and lunch. Tohru stopped folding laundry and went into Shigure's study.

"Do you need something?" Tohru asked.

"Oh no, nothing like that. I was merely wondering if you'd be up for a visit to the main house today. Akito said he wanted to see you and your friends. I've been assured that he means you no harm," Shigure said. Tohru's eyes widened.

"Oh, o-of course!" Tohru replied.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Shigure asked. Tohru looked sheepish.

"If you wouldn't mind," Tohru said with a small smile.

"Not at all, Tohru!" Shigure said. "When school gets out for Uo and Hana we'll call them, okay?"

"Okay."

The rest of the morning and a good chunk of the afternoon passed normally, although Kyo and Tohru's attitudes towards each other were slightly more relaxed and less awkward now that they knew that the feelings were mutual.

"Tohru? We should probably get going soon. We should call them over," Shigure suggested, glancing at the clock.

"Get going where?" Kyo asked.

"Akito wants to see her," Shigure said quietly.

"What!? Now way! She's not going anywhere!" Kyo yelled.

"Kyo, it's fine," Tohru said, putting a hand on his arm. "I'll be okay. Uo and Hana will be with me." Kyo's tension dies down just a little bit at that. He still didn't like it, but he knew Tohru's friends wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"I don't like it," Kyo mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Akito's word is law, Kyo. There isn't much you can do about it," Shigure said.

"Yeah, yeah. Just… come back safe, okay, Tohru?" Kyo asked. Tohru nodded, smiling.

"I'll go call them!" Tohru said, running off. Shigure pulled out his phone.

"And I'll call Hatori to drive us!" Shigure announced, and punched in the doctor's number before Kyo could notice that he still hadn't changed his wallpaper.

"Tori? Akito has summoned Tohru and her friends. I don't suppose you could drive us?" Shigure asked. A pause, then, "Thanks, Hatori."

"They said they're on their way!" Tohru said cheerily, walking back into the room. "They should be here in about ten minutes or so."

"Alright. I called Hatori to come pick us up, and he'll be here in about fifteen minutes, so everything should work out just fine. I'm sure we won't be at the main house any longer than two hours, so we should be home in time for you to make dinner."

"Great!" Tohru exclaimed. She hurried into her room and changed into something slightly more formal. She didn't want to offend Akito on accident! By the time she'd finished changing, Uo and Hana had arrived.

"Tohru! There you are? What's going on? Shigure won't tell us anything without being vague or perverted!" Uo complained.

"I'll explain in a minute. How were things at school? Did you have any… you know… problems?" Tohru asked. Uo sighed.

"Yeah right! Like any boy would come anywhere near me, let alone close enough for _that!_" Uo said, rolling her eyes.

"I think she's rather disappointed," Hana noted. Tohru sweatdropped.

"Anyway, the head of the Sohma family, Akito, wanted to see us, since Uo and I are a part of the curse now. And he wanted to meet Hana because she found out!" Tohru explained with a nervous smile.

"I guess that makes sense. Any idea how long it'll take?" Uo asked. Tohru shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know. But, if it's too late, it'd be just fine for you to stay here!" Tohru offered.

"Ah! I hear our cabbie pulling up!" Shigure exclaimed. "We'll be back later Kyo, Yuki!" he called over his shoulder, and they walked out the door together.

"I'm not a cabbie, Shigure," Hatori informed him, standing just outside his car with his hand still on the door. "I'm a doctor."

"Yes, yes, whatever. Let's go!" Shigure exclaimed, and hopped into the passenger seat, leaving the three girls to squeeze into the back seat. Fifteen minutes of mostly silent driving passed, and they were pulling up to the rather imposing from gates.

Nervously, the three girls followed Shigure through the Sohma estate towards Akito's dwelling. Shigure knocked, and the door was opened by one of the servants.

"Ah, the master has been expecting you. Come in," she said, bowing them inside. The three girls walked into the house towards Akito and everything he had in store for them.

* * *

Sorry about the cliffy! I'm proud of myself, though. _I _thought it was a pretty good update. The next chapter, I don't know how long it'll be, but it _will _be the final chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry, sorry! I need to stop making promises for when I'll update, because it never comes when I think it will… I posted as soon as I could! I know, not soon enough… -_-' Although, to make up for it, I did make this chapter even longer than the previous two, so forgive me? Just to warn people, unless you've read the manga all the way through, there are spoilers in this chapter.

*spoilers* Uo and Kureno have met, but Tohru hasn't found out that he's actually to one Uo met. Kureno doesn't know that Uo and Tohru are friends. Tohru doesn't know about Akito's gender. This information will prevent confusion later. Hopefully…

Hana has a sort of speech later in the chapter that I felt was kind of forced, but it needed to be said. If you can think of a better way for the scene to go, don't hesitate to PM me! (you'll know the scene when you get there)

Without further ado, I present to you the final chapter of Surprising Developments! Afterward, I'll go through and give the chapters actual names instead of just Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc…

"Come in," Akito's voice was soft, calling the three girls into the room. Shigure was forced to wait outside as they carefully stepped through the doorway and the door was closed behind them, cutting them off from the world outside the room.

"Ah, Tohru. It has been far too long since I last saw you. The circumstances were different, then," Akito said, walking over to Tohru and twirling a strand of her hair around his finger as she stood as still as possible. "Our bond, sadly, is not complete. Can you feel it?"

"I don't know what you mean," Tohru replied with a slight frown.

"The zodiac spirit inside you is disoriented. Suddenly switching bodies can do that, you know. It has yet to accept my role as its god, and you aren't yet bound by my rule. It won't be long yet, however. Please, introduce me to our newest little sheep," Akito commanded.

"This is Arisa Uotani," Tohru said, nodding towards the other girl, who was glaring at Akito. He spoke gently, but there was something definitely unlikeable about him. She couldn't put her finger on it.

"Uo," she corrected stiffly. Akito looked her up and down.

"I'm not one to let strangers into my family, _Uo._ I expect you to earn your place amongst my Juunishi," Akito informed her. "But worry not. I will love you just the same."

"I do not appreciate you intimidating my friends," Hana said coldly. Akito glanced at her.

"You must be Saki. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard interesting things about you. Tell me about your abilities," Akito demanded. At that moment, a back door to the room opened, with a figure silhouetted in the doorway.

"Kureno, you're late. When I give you the freedom to go out, it would do you well to remember that I expect you to return to me on time," Akito drawled, beckoning the man inside. The man bowed slightly and came into the room, turning to shut the door behind him. When he turned around, his face finally illuminated by the lighting in the room, Uo gasped, eyes wide. The sound drew all eyes, including Kureno's, to her.

"Arisa?" he asked incredulously.

"Kureno!?" Uo exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

"You two have met? Why was I not informed?" Akito asked dangerously. Kureno flinched slightly.

"I met her on one of the days you so graciously let me out, Akito. I was not aware that she was a person of interest to you," he replied, bowing.

"She wasn't when you met her," Akito replied. "You are forgiven."

"Uo, who's this?" Hana asked.

"Remember I was telling you the guy who reminded me of Tohru?" Uo asked. Hana nodded in understanding. Tohru glanced at Kureno.

"Really?" she asked. Uo nodded.

"Excuse me, Akito, but you said she wasn't _when I met her. _Please tell me, what has changed?" Kureno asked, eyeing Uo worriedly. Her expression darkened.

"When dear Kisa and Hiro were killed, the zodiac spirits were transferred into these two," Akito replied, waving vaguely towards Tohru and Uo. Kureno's eyes widened. There was an unexplained sadness in his eyes when he looked at Uo. "So, Saki. As I was saying, I would appreciate very much if you would explain your intriguing abilities to me. What can you do?"

"I read and control electro-poison waves. I can use them for many things," Hana replied curtly. Akito was starting to get irritated at her lack of detail.

"Yes, but what exactly can you use them for?" Akito asked angrily.

"Most often I use them to identify people. For instance, I can pick out Tohru in a crowd be feeling for her waves. They can tell me personality, motive, age…" Hana said, trailing off. Then she looked sharply at Akito. "Gender."

Uo noticed Hana's sharp glare.

"What are you looking at him like that for?" Uo asked. Sure, he wasn't likeable, but she wasn't sure he'd done anything to deserve Hana's death glare.

"She's been keeping herself bottle dup for a long time. Her waves are chaotic, and I find it unpleasant," Hana replied. Tohru jumped.

"She!?" Tohru asked, looking quickly at Akito, who looked furious.

"How dare you bare in here and mock me!?" she yelled, stalking forward as if to strike her. Kureno grabbed her wrist before she could.

"Akito, you shouldn't harm your guests," he said gently. Akito looked down.

"I did not mean to mock. As I've said, I can feel your personality inside of you. It confuses me why you do not act on how you truly feel. All the sadness and loneliness inside you, why do you turn it to bitterness and hatred? Why is it that you force your will onto others when you want so desperately to be accepted?" Hana asked. Akito's eyes widened. She almost looked scared.

"What is it to you!?" Akito screamed. "You're just making that up anyway! Why would I need anything but my Juunishi! You can't take them from me!"

"The word Juunishi… it scares you. Why?"

"It doesn't scare me! I'm not scared of anything!" Akito said softly.

"You are afraid of what it implies. Because they are Juunishi, you are afraid that they stay only because they are attached to you through the curse. You yearn for acceptance, yet you fear false loyalty. Why do you cling so hard to that which you fear?" Hana asked quietly, putting a hand on Akito's shoulder. To everyone's surprise, Akito didn't throw her off.

"That's…" Akito whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

"You're afraid of being alone, aren't you? You don't want to be forgotten. And so you cling to your fear of lies in order to cater to your need for friends. Why not try for both?" Hana asked softly. "Do you think it impossible? Inside, I can feel that's you're like a lost child. You're confused, scared. You need to be cared for, but you don't know where to find it." Akito was outright sobbing now, and suddenly launched herself at Hana, clinging to her tightly. Hana's expression softened, and she put her hand on Akito's head, stroking her hair.

"Won't you open up to us?" Hana asked softly, almost cooing. She ignored the other three, all staring at the scene in utmost shock. "Let yourself out of the cage you've locked your heart in. What do you think it is that's making you so sick?"

At Hana's last statement, Akito froze, then looked at her.

"But they'll leave me! They'll all leave, and I'll be alone! I would rather die than be alone," Akito wailed.

"Will they leave? Really? Some perhaps, but all of them? Kureno has already chosen to stay by your side, despite the fact that he is no longer held by the curse. He can see the you that you try so desperately to hide, as I can. Who is to say others won't realize it too?"

"Stay with me," Akito whispered. "I'm scared."

"I know," Hana whispered, hugging Akito again. "I know."

"You're not cursed?" Tohru whispered at Kureno. He shook his head, not looking away from Akito with a look of pity.

"I'm _really _confused," Uo whispered at Tohru, who shrugged, just as lost. Hana looked over at them.

"I think it would be best for me to stay," Hana said to her friends. "I will return to you tomorrow."

"No way, we're not just leaving you here!" Uo exclaimed.

"I am not leaving. This poor child needs someone. Anyone," Hana said softly as Akito cried on her shoulder.

"Then I'll stay, too!" Tohru exclaimed determinedly, rushing over and hugging Akito as well. "Akito, I'm so sorry. I never knew that all you needed was acceptance. I promise to be your friend, okay?" Akito nodded mutely.

"But Tohru, Orangetop will be worried if Shigure comes home and says you're staying here! He'll assume the worst!" Uo protested. "I can stay, okay? You need to go home."

"I can't just leave her!" Tohru protested. Uo noticed that Tohru was tearing up for Akito's sake.

"Geez, Tohru. Fine, let's see if she can come with us to Shigure's then," Uo suggested. Kureno was still standing unmoving in a shocked silence, but snapped out of it.

"I'll… get Shigure," he said weakly, and walked out the door, leaving the four girls to their group hug, two of whom were sobbing, one who was humming a soothing, though admittedly rather dark-sounding lullaby, and one who was just really, really confused. (I bet you can't guess who's who! ;P)

"What is it that you wanted me to see?" they heard Shigure asking Kureno as they approached the open doorway. Shigure stopped dead in his tracks. "Is that… crying? Did Akito hurt them!? But he promised…"

"No, nothing like that, Shigure, calm down. I would just tell you, but you wouldn't believe me. I don't even really believe it, and I was there," Kureno said. "Come on."

Shigure walked into the room to the huddled mass of emotion on the floor and stared at them blankly.

"What happened!?" he asked finally. Akito looked at him, tears still in her eyes.

"Don't leave me?" she asked. Shigure walked over quickly and took her hand.

"Akito, what happened?" Shigure asked, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"I simply told her what she most needed to hear," Hana said. "Tohru and I do not wish to leave her alone, but Uo is afraid that Kyo would react badly to us staying here overnight. I would appreciate it if Akito could be included in our group for the night."

"Uh… sure," Shigure said, surprised. "I'll go tell Hatori to get the car ready," Shigure said, and shot one more questioning look at Kureno before running off to find the doctor.

"Akito?" Tohru asked. "You don't need to be alone anymore, okay? If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"

"Thank you," Akito whispered. Tohru felt something inside her reach out and intertwine her with Akito. She gasped.

"Is this…?" she asked. Akito nodded.

"The bond," she said sadly, twisting ever so slightly out of Tohru's grip.

"Akito, she accepted you without it," Hana reminded the broken woman in her arms.

"I liked it better without it. I want it gone," Akito said, clutching to Hana for dear life. "Can you get rid of it? Please?"

"I'm sorry, Akito. I deal in waves. There's nothing _I_ can do," Hana said slowly. "_However_, I do happen to know someone who deals in curses. We'll go see him tomorrow, okay?" Akito nodded mutely. When Shigure returned with Hatori, the doctor raised an eyebrow, and Shigure shrugged helplessly.

Hana and Tohru held Akito's hands on the walk out to the car, and all four of the girls squeezed into the back seat, Akito's head leaning against Hana's shoulder. The car ride was spent in complete silence, but Shigure kept shooting the back seat an incredulous and confused look, which Hana ignored, Tohru didn't notice because she was too busy comforting Akito, and Uo was giving the other three the exact same look.

When the car pulled up to the house, Kyo was, predictably, waiting on the roof. He jumped down when Tohru got out of the car first, being the closest to the door.

"Tohru, you're back!" Kyo said, sounding relieved. "What did Akito want?" he asked suspiciously. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm fine, Kyo," Tohru said distractedly, turning back to the car to help Akito out. She clutched to Tohru for dear life like a child who'd been reunited with its mother. Kyo's eyes widened almost comically. The rest of the group exited the vehicle and they went inside before answering any questions.

"We're back!" Tohru called to Yuki, who came walking around a corner with a relieved expression, which soon mimicked Kyo's shocked face to a T.

"Akito…" Yuki breathed, almost pained. "Shigure, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," Shigure said with a sigh. "I had to wait outside, and suddenly Kureno comes out and brings me back to these four hugging and crying on the floor!"

"Only these two were crying," Hana corrected, gesturing to Tohru and Akito. "I was humming, and Uo was just sort of sitting there."

"I think you four owe us an explanation," Hatori said quietly, eyeing the group. Uo shrugged.

"Leave me out of this. I'm just as confused as you guys, and I was there!" she protested.

"I will explain. When I went in to see Akito, she started asking me about my abilities…" Hana started, but was cut off by Kyo.

"Whaddya mean, 'she'!?" he exclaimed, his eyes going even wider as his gaze shifted to Akito, who was hiding behind Tohru, only her eyes visible above her shoulder.

"Don't interrupt," Hana instructed. "As I was saying, I starting telling her about my abilities. I told her I could use them to sense gender, but most importantly personality and emotions. I simply began speaking truths, and her barriers broke down. I don't believe she'll ever be the same," Hana said.

"She!?" Kyo repeated. Shigure sighed.

"Yes, Kyo. She," he said.

"Come on, Akito, let's get you upstairs," Tohru said, and began leading the other girl up to her room.

"Hey, do you think it's smart to leave them alone together!? Akito has a history of violence, you know!" Kyo hissed.

"For once I agree with him. I don't want Miss Honda getting hurt," Yuki said, glancing after them. Hana almost rolled her eyes.

"I just told you, the real Akito is nothing like the Akito you know. Tohru will be fine. If you'll excuse us, Uo and I have a sleepover to attend," Hana said.

"I wouldn't call it a slee-whoa!" Uo exclaimed as Hana grabbed her arm and dragged her up the stairs.

'Sleepover?" Kyo mouthed incredulously.

"From what I understand, they merely want to keep Akito company while she's so emotionally vulnerable," Kureno explained. "Also… tomorrow, if I heard correctly, they seem to be going out to see someone."

"What!?" Kyo exclaimed. Shigure nodded gravely, his face whitening just slightly.

"Yes. I think that was decided right after Akito begged Hana to get rid of the curse," Shigure said pointedly, waiting for the other two's reaction.

"WHAT!?" both of the teenage boys screamed.

"We can't be talking about the same Akito. Akito relies on the curse! The bond!" Yuki exclaimed. Shigure shrugged.

"Where do they plan on going tomorrow!?" Kyo exclaimed.

"I believe Hana said something about visiting someone she knew who dealt in curses who might be able to help," Shigure replied. "Regardless, I think we all should get to sleep. We've all had varying degrees of shock, and I for one could use the beauty sleep." With this he turned around. "Hatori, Kureno, you're both welcome to stay."

Unsure what else to do, the other four simply followed Shigure's example and collapsed onto the first suitable surface they came in contact with.

The next morning, Tohru woke up bright and early as usual and went downstairs to make breakfast. When she was finished, she set it aside and went back upstairs to check on Akito. She'd woken up by then, and was sitting up, hugging her knees and staring blankly ahead.

"Akito?" Tohru half-whispered so as not to wake the other two. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I was just- waiting. Hana is still asleep," Akito said, standing up. "And I wasn't sure where you'd gone."

"I just had to make breakfast. Would you like to join me downstairs?" Tohru asked.

"I… don't know if I should. I've done awful things to them, they'll never be able to forgive me. I'll never be able to forgive myself," Akito said, her voice getting quieter as she spoke. She ended the sentence by clenching her fist and looking down. Tohru could see a single tear fall from her cheek.

"It's okay. You're just as much part of this curse as we are. It did things to your mind. They'll understand. Come on," Tohru pressed. Finally Akito nodded, and followed behind Tohru, gripping the cloth at the back of her shirt.

Akito was eating slowly, nibbling at her food, when Kyo woke up. He walked in, narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, then disappeared into the kitchen to check on Tohru.

"I don't like this," Kyo mumbled, leaning against the counter.

"It's fine, Kyo. I promise. Trust me, okay?" Tohru asked. "I have breakfast ready. Uo and Hana will probably be awake and done before anyone else, so can you make sure everyone finds their food? We'll want to be leaving as soon as possible."

"You really think that whoever it is that Hana knows will be able to break the curse?" Kyo asked. Tohru shrugged.

"It's our best bet. We've got to try," Tohru said. At that moment, true to her predictions, Uo and Hana came down, and the four girls ate together while Kyo watched from the doorway of the kitchen suspiciously and protectively.

"We should go. I should call ahead so they're expecting us," Hana said. Uo rolled her eyes.

"Hana, they're always expecting you. You _live _there," Uo reminded her.

"I suppose," Hana agreed. "It's not too far to walk, but if you'd rather drive…"

"Walking's fine. Just as long as we can get rid of this stupid confining curse," Akito said. "And you don't leave me," she added in a half-whisper. Hana put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I have no curse to speak of, so you must know that I am going nowhere. And based on what you know of Tohru, would she ever do something so hurtful? And Uo… well, she's with us," Hana said. Akito nodded.

The group walked in silence towards their destination, and the feeling of general anticipation grew with every step. Finally, they approached the front door. Before any of them could even reach towards the door, the object of their trip opened the door and looked up at them.

"It took you longer than I thought it would," Megumi said monotonously. Hana nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Arisa slept later than I'd anticipated. Did you do what I asked?" Hana inquired.

"As soon as I heard your request. Come inside, I made tea," Megumi instructed, ushering the four girls inside and eyeing Akito quizzically.

"Megumi, this is Akito, the head of the Sohma family. Akito, this is Megumi, Hana's younger brother!" Tohru introduced cheerfully.

"It's nice to meet you. You really needn't have come, Saki. You knew as well as I do that it's just a matter of waiting, now," Megumi intoned. The three who weren't Hanajimas looked on in puzzlement.

"I am quite aware. However, I thought it might be best to have you reassure them. Not everyone understands our abilities," Hana reminded him.

"True," Megumi noted, pouring tea.

"Uh, I hate to state the obvious, but the rest of us have absolutely zero clue what you two are yapping about," Uo informed the siblings, who both glanced over at the other three simultaneously.

"Ah, you are correct. You see, Megumi is already working at getting rid of your curse," Hana said. "And he has been since around… six yesterday evening. But curses, both the starting and the ending, take three days for Megumi to complete. So the curse will break Tuesday evening."

"Just like that?" Uo asked incredulously. Hana shook her head.

"The work on Megumi's part is far more in-depth and complicated. I suspect he won't be able to go to school, as his time will be consumed with meditation, but I suppose for you, it will indeed, as you say, be 'just like that'."

"Thank you," Akito breathed, tearing up. "It'll finally be gone." Tohru squeezed her hand.

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, we should go tell the others!" Tohru exclaimed. "They'll need to know. And besides, we're probably distracting Megumi!"

"Anything to help you guys, Tohru. As long as Hana keeps her end of the promise," he said with an evil glint in his eye.

"Of course. By any means necessary," Hana said seriously.

"What'd you promise him?" Uo asked suspiciously.

"That I'd get to see you in a miniskirt," Megumi answered automatically and unabashed.

"You are a lecherous little old man child," Uo accused. She shot a dagger glare at Hana. "And you shouldn't encourage him!"

"Just once, Arisa. It was the only thing he wanted when I asked him to help," Hana said. Uo grunted, but nodded grudgingly.

"_After_ the curse is gone, and not a moment before," Uo agreed hotly. "Come on, Tohru, you were right. Let's get out of here. You coming Hana? Akito?"

Akito nodded hurriedly, but Hana hung back. "I will stay here. I will see the two of you at school tomorrow," Hana said, and showed them to the door.

They walked back with a considerably lighter mood, most of it emanating from Tohru, who was babbling happily.

"Isn't it wonderful, Akito!? Megumi's going to break the curse, and we'll all be free! And don't worry, I'll still be your friend! And everyone will be able to live a normal life! Oh, this is wonderful!" Tohru gushed.

"Yeah," Akito agreed with a half-smile on her face.

"You guys are back already?" Kyo asked, poking his head out the door and shooting a quick glance at Akito before quickly turning his gaze on Tohru. "Where'd you go? Where's Hana?"

"We went to Hana's house. She stayed there," Tohru explained happily, looking about an inch from bursting out and telling him the good news.

"I thought you were trying to get the curse broken or whatever?" Kyo asked confusedly.

"Megumi works in curses, remember, oh smart one?" Uo asked, rolling her eyes. Kyo's eyes widened.

"So… what happened?" he asked.

"Are Shigure and Yuki both home?" Tohru asked. Kyo nodded and shrugged.

"Gather everyone in the living room," Tohru instructed as they walked into the house.

"Yo, rat boy! Dog breath! Get in here a second, they're back!" Kyo called over his shoulder, and led them into the living room, perching on the arm of the couch. Within seconds the other two came in.

"What happened?" Shigure asked, quirking an eyebrow at them.

"All we have to do is wait," Uo informed the room at large.

"Hana got Megumi to undo the curse for us, and all we have to do is wait until Tuesday!" Tohru exclaimed happily. The other three looked taken aback.

"Really?" Yuki asked, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. Tohru nodded enthusiastically.

"So… it'll really be gone? The zodiac spirit?" Shigure asked, sounding like he was trying to keep himself from hoping for it or daring to believe it.

"Yeah. Gone. Whoosh," Uo emphasized the onomatopoeia with a flamboyant hand gesture.

The room was silent for a moment, each individual stewing in their own private thoughts for a moment.

"Call the Juunishi together," Akito requested quietly. "They all need to know."

Less than an hour later, all thirteen Juunishi, even Kureno, whose curse had already been broken, were gathered together.

"Tohru, will you tell them? I just… I'm not sure how to face them now that I'm not… me anymore," Akito explained lamely, but Tohru understood the sentiment and nodded her understanding.

"We have some good news!" Tohru announced to the room at large. Those who didn't already know what she was going to say looked at her with sharp attentiveness, especially the ones who were still confused with Tohru and Akito's newfound friendship. "The curse… well, it's going to be gone by Tuesday evening!"

*crickets*crickets*crickets*

"What did you say!?" Haru asked, shocked.

"You heard her, dimwit, now shut up!" Kyo said tensely.

"Knock it off, you two!" Rin said, glaring between them.

"You mean I'll be able to hug Momo?" Momiji whispered to himself, tears flowing freely down his face. "I'm so happy!"

"I'm going to finally be able to expose my long, slender arms and legs to the sun and wear short sleeved shirts and shorts!" Ayame grinned. "A whole new world of possibilities opens up!"

"No, no, Aya… only _I'm _allowed to see you exposed like that," Shigure whined.

"Fret not, my Shigure, for I was merely jesting. You know that I belong solely to you," Ayame reassured.

"Yes!"

"Idiots. Now is not the time for this. This is serious," Hatori scolded.

"Quite right, Hatori. Such behavior is completely inappropriate in this tense and life-changing atmosphere!" Ayame declared.

"That was a quick change of attitude," Yuki commented.

The group quickly fell into their usual banter, and Akito watched on longingly. Tohru noticed and walked over to talk to her. Momiji aided her cause and opened up to Akito, slowly at first, but more and more when he noticed the drastic changes in Akito. The others gradually joined the conversation until Akito was talking freely as part of the group, no longer standing above the circle, but completely immersed in it. The whole story was explained bit by bit throughout the conversations.

Akito stayed at the main house that night when Tohru and the others went back home. Tohru went to sleep early, wanting to get some extra rest since she'd fallen slightly out of the habit of a school morning's schedule.

The next morning, the three teens went back to school.

"Ah, you three. Would you care to explain where you've been?" the teacher asked when they walked in.

"Two of our cousins died. Miss Honda was very close to them as well. We left for emotional reasons," Yuki explained. The teacher nodded.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I've made packets of the work you missed. Just make sure I get it by the end of the week, all right?" he instructed, and handed them their assignments.

Unfortunately, this was repeated in all of their classes, and they were soon buried under a mountain of homework. The next night, Tohru didn't get to sleep until three in the morning, but did manage to struggle through all of her makeup work. Kyo did similarly, while Yuki put it off and slept like normal, as he was the only one of the three who didn't have plans for the next evening other than getting the curse lifted, which, in his view, would be good no matter what he was stuck doing, so since he had a week to do the work, he could afford to put it off. For some reason, Tohru and Kyo seemed to think that if their homework wasn't done before their date then it would be ruined, or something strange and silly like that.

Unfortunately, this bout of late-night studying made the two teens sleep late, and a very annoyed, half-asleep Yuki woke up to find that Tohru hadn't gotten up and made him breakfast. After considering his options, he felt it would be best to allow her to sleep, and tried to make himself toast. His plan backfired, however, when he burnt the toast and accidentally set the fire alarm off, consequentially waking up the other residents.

After calming everyone down and assuring them nothing was actually on fire, Yuki sat down and waited for Tohru to hurriedly scrape something together, and the three teens walked to school. Well, halfway to school. After that, Kyo and Yuki walked alone, due to the fact that a black car pulled alongside them, someone in vary Halloween-y ninja clothes dashed out of the back seat, flung a shrieking Tohru over their shoulder, threw her into the back of the car, handed a stunned Yuki a note, jumped back into the car, and sped off.

Kyo let out a strangled sound, gaping after the car, as a very tense and worried Yuki unfolded the piece of paper, relaxed visibly, rolled his eyes, dropped the paper, and continued walking to school. Based on Yuki's reaction, he realized it must not be anything to worry about, but after a glance at the note the rat hat dropped, he had to disagree.

_My Dearest Yuki,_

_ Fret not, mon frère! Our lovely Princess Tohru is safe with me! She has a fitting for a dress to take care of before her date with Kyonkichi tonight, and I intend to spend the entire day shopping for additions to her wardrobe that will complement Kyo's usual attire! Also, anything that matches the dress that Kyo so diligently helped me design for her! I will be sure to return the princess by the time school is out!_

_ -Your eternally loving and dedicated brother, Ayame Sohma_

Although Kyo no longer worried for Tohru's immediate safety, there was one thing in particular that bothered him about the note.

"What the heck's he talking about, a dress!?" Kyo asked, dashing to catch up with Yuki, who merely smirked at him and kept walking. "Oi, ratboy! What dress!?"

"I'm not surprised you don't remember, stupid cat. After all, you were pumped full of catnip at the time. Didn't you ever wonder what you did while you were at Ayame's? You were complaining the next day that you couldn't remember, right?" Yuki said, still smirking in a superior kind of way.

"So Ayame gave Shigure the catnip idea? I'll _kill_ him!" Kyo moaned, before realizing what else Yuki had said. "Ayame actually got me to design that stupid dress he wouldn't shut up about!?"

"Apparently. Or weren't you paying attention to what you were reading?" Yuki asked, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, shut up! What did he get me to do!?"

"How should I know, baka? It's not like I watched you two sketch! I was happily asleep at the time, if you'll remember!

"But you saw how I acted last time! He could've gotten me to do _anything!_" Kyo insisted, shuddering at the horrible possibilities.

"Yes, well, unless you turn into Shigure when you get high on catnip, then hopefully we don't have anything to worry about. Regardless, there's not much you can do about it. Let's just go to school and get it over with. And Kyo?"

"What?" Kyo asked irritably.

"Take good care of her," Yuki said, and hurriedly disappeared into the school building, leaving Kyo to wonder when the world had gone insane.

Meanwhile in Ayame's Shop…

"Tohru, cease dawdling and come inside! We have to have you fitted and accessorized in time for tonight!" Ayame whined, dragging Tohru behind him.

"But… but… Ayame I have school!" Tohru exclaimed, unsure what he meant by fitted and accessorized.

"I'm sure that Yuki and your beloved Kyonkichi will make your excuses for you! Besides, I must prepare you for your night of romance! All else is of little importance!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Night of _what!?"_ Tohru exclaimed. "You mean my date with Kyo?"

"Why of course! Kyonkichi was kind enough to help me design a dress for you to wear tonight when he came over!" Ayame said happily. Tohru turned scarlet.

"He did? That doesn't really sound like Kyo…" Tohru said slowly. Ayame grimaced a little bit.

"Well, to be entirely truthful, I did have to… ah… _persuade _him a bit. I was the one who discovered the potency of catnip!" Ayame declared, pushing Tohru through the door into the shop and locking the door behind him. "Mine! I've brought her!"

"Perfect! Bring her back so I can dress her up and make adjustments!" Mine exclaimed from the back room. Tohru decided that when Mine was involved it was best to cooperate, so she walked into the back room without a fuss, though her apprehension grew with each step. Knowing Mine, this could be a bit overwhelming…

Tohru's hunch was found to be correct as she was wrenched into the back room by the over-eager cosplayer and promptly fussed over. Tohru allowed Mine her fun for a while, and eventually Mine had finished the part she was most excited about; dressing Tohru up.

"The waist could stand to be tightened a bit, but on the whole I think we did a good job!" Mine exclaimed, running an eye over a recently blindfolded Tohru. Mine's excuse was that she wanted the beautiful dress to be a surprise.

"Um… can I take this off now?" Tohru asked cautiously, gesturing to the blindfold.

"Not yet! Not until you're done!" Mine exclaimed, and went about tightening the waistline and letting down the hem just a bit. By the time Mine had finally declared that the dress was finished to her satisfaction, it could've been hours. Mine finally allowed Tohru to take the blindfold off, but wouldn't let her anywhere near a mirror until she'd done hair and makeup. After another hour or two, Tohru was finally deemed acceptable, and was presented to Ayame for a final once over.

"Oh, Mine you never cease to astound! She's gorgeous!" Ayame tittered.

"Now can I look in a mirror?" Tohru asked. Ayame grinned and dragged her over to a full-length mirror. Tohru's eyes widened.

"It's beautiful!" she breathed, glancing at the overall effect of the look. The coloring matched her skin tone well, and the way Mine had curled and braided her hair went well with the slight poof to the dress on the sleeves and below the waist.

"Isn't it strange to think of? _Kyo _actually has fashion sense!" Ayame exclaimed dramatically, as if this revelation signified the end of the world.

"Um, I still don't quite understand, Ayame. What exactly happened with Kyo… and the dress…?" Tohru asked, unsure how to phrase her inquiry.

"That, my dear, is a long story! And it all started with a text message!" Ayame said, going into epic story mode, which he usually reserved for regaling Yuki with stories of his youth. "You see, I was working in the shop not so long ago when my phone made the strangest of noises. It was similar to the sound of a bell, if I do recall correctly. When I let my gaze pass over the screen, what should greet my eyes but an alert that my dear Shigure had sent me a picture! So, without further ado, I whisked open the small device and read his message. One look at the picture he sent was all it took to make me firm in the resolve that I would have Kyo design a dress for your first date!" Ayame took a breath to continue, but Tohru interrupted quietly.

"Oh, well, I still don't quite get what the picture was of…" Tohru said weakly. Knowing Shigure, even the ever-trusting Tohru had fair reason to be worried.

"Ah! Of course! You see, I believe it was the day that you realized you were possessed! Shigure came up to your room to see you and Kyo in a loving embrace-"

"He saw that!?" Tohru exclaimed, mortified. Ayame's only response was a grin, and Tohru buried her face in her hands.

"And since your feelings had been declared, I took it upon myself to help Kyo with your first courtship present!" Ayame continued, ignoring Tohru's feelings of discomfiture. "So I sent my suggestion to Shigure. My patience waned rapidly, however, and when I could no longer bear the pain of waiting for a response, I took the direct approach and whisked Kyo away myself!

"Hours of tireless efforts, however, taught me that Kyo is too stubborn to give into reason, and my mind was suddenly bestowed with the idea of using catnip to help my purposes! So I rushed to the store, and afterwards Kyo was _much _more willing to cooperate!" Ayame finished his story with an elaborate gesture of his hands and a flamboyant bow, then grabbed one of the hands still covering Tohru's face and dragged her by the wrist out of the shop, Mine scurrying behind. At Tohru's questioning glance, he explained, "No outfit is complete without accessories, Tohru! Come, come! It's time to go shopping!" he sang the last word loudly, attracting the curious glances of many pedestrians going in the other direction. The extravagant appearances of all three did nothing to dissuade their interest.

After dragging Tohru from malls to jewelers to thrift stores to any random store they came across, Ayame and Mine finally decided that they had done enough window shopping, and went back to the stores that held their favorite pieces, Tohru all the while protesting that they shouldn't be spending their money on her and that the beautiful dress was more than enough.

"Tohru!" Ayame whined. "The dress is _Kyo's _gift! We want to get you something from _us_ to congratulate you!"

"Oh, but…" Tohru began to argue, but Ayame had already turned to the register to buy the pink earrings and orange necklace that had brought them back to the jewelers. After insisting that she put them on and guilting her into accepting them, Ayame glanced at the clock.

"Oh, we're running out of time! Alright. Mine, you stay here with Tohru, I'll go prepare Kyo! I've taken the liberty of buying him and outfit to complement Tohru's! I didn't have time for anything hand-made, but they'll look quite the pair!" without waiting for either of the two's response, he darted off.

"Come on, Tohru! Let's go!" Mine exclaimed happily, taking over the job of dragging Tohru behind her.

"Uh… go where?" Tohru asked, sweatdropping.

"We should wait for them back at the shop! If plans change, I'm sure Ayame will call!" Mine reassured.

Meanwhile, at school…

Kyo was tapping his pencil on the desk in agitation, something he'd been doing almost all day, unable to stop himself worrying on Tohru's behalf. His mood didn't improve at all when there were loud exclamations of delight from some of the girls sitting by the window. He couldn't hear what they were saying, not that he was really listening, but their voices weren't helping with his headache.

"Stupid cat, stop glaring at the wall. I swear, you're going to burn a hole in it, and you're scaring the teacher," Yuki said, slapping Kyo lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, shut up! You're way too calm about this!" Kyo retorted, running a hand through his hair.

"Ayame may be… _enthusiastic,_ but he's relatively harmless. I'm honestly more worried about the quality of your mind when you get high. Who _knows _what you might've come up with for that dress," Yuki shuddered slightly. One of the girls by the window suddenly called out.

"He's coming inside!" She said excitedly. None too subtly, several of the girls in the classroom simultaneously asked to use the restroom. The request was denied, and the teacher tried to rally the students to some semblance of order before continuing with the lesson.

His triumph didn't last long, however. Within seconds of the class quieting down, the door burst open.

"Yuki! Mon frère! How coincidental that I should find _you _here! I merely came to collect Kyo!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Idiot, you already know my schedule, don't think I didn't catch Shigure copying it for you. You knew perfectly well that I would be in here," Yuki groaned.

"He's your brother!?" the girls shrieked. Yuki sighed unhappily. Kyo, on the other hand, was looking pointedly at everything in the room except Ayame, hoping to escape detection, as if his hair wasn't enough of a giveaway. His meager hopes were dashed a moment later when Ayame put his hand on Kyo's shoulder.

"If you will excuse Kyo, he has important business to take care of elsewhere, and I will be taking him to prepare," Ayame declared, bowing respectfully to the teacher.

"Now wait just a-"

"Thank you for your cooperation! That will be all!" Ayame declared, and whisked Kyo away, kicking and screaming, before anyone could react.

"I do apologize for my brother's behavior, sensei. He's a bit… odd," Yuki sighed. "There's not much we can do."

"Come now, Kyo! You need to stop flailing about, or Tohru will think you don't want to see her!" Ayame scolded. Kyo froze up.

"We're going to see her _now!? _I may not be experienced at this, but there is no freaking way I'm going on any sort of date in my school uniform when she's dressed up! How lame is _that!?" _Kyo said hotly.

"Do you know where you're taking her?" Ayame asked, ignoring his question. Kyo's eyes narrowed.

"I had a couple ideas. I was going to let her decide what we did," Kyo said, without giving any details. Ayame sighed.

"Well, at least you're not completely hopeless. Anyway, Kyo, you should have more faith in me! I would _never _allow you to wear that on your date! The colors would clash _terribly!_" Ayame said with a shudder. Kyo felt his energy and patience slipping away with every word out of the older man's mouth.

"So let me go home to change!" Kyo said, twisting his arm out of Ayame's grip.

"Don't be silly, Kyonkichi! You can't even remember what the dress looks like! I have chosen an outfit to complement! Come, come! Let us be off!" Ayame instructed, and Kyo grudgingly stomped after Ayame, who was prancing off in the other direction.

Ayame seemed to be heading nowhere in particular until he finally turned off the road…

Towards Shigure's house.

"What the heck, Ayame!?" Kyo shouted, annoyed. "Why'd you drag me all over town just to go to Shigure's when that's where I suggested we go in the first place!?"

"The ladies aren't expecting us for another hour! We had the luxury of time, so we went the scenic route!" Ayame explained with a smile. Kyo's dark mutterings didn't affect his mood at all as they walked up the forest path. Shigure was waiting for them outside the door.

"Shigure! I've brought him! Did you get what I sent you?" Ayame asked excitedly.

"You mean the package you had Mine deliver to me this morning before you took Tohru to the shop? It's sitting on Kyo's bed!" Shigure said cheerfully.

"You knew about this!?" Kyo asked. "Keh. You would."

Shigure grinned at Kyo's pained expression and ushered them inside. Ayame pushed Kyo up the stairs and into his room, then told him to change into the clothes on his bed. Closing the door and standing guard outside, Ayame waited for Kyo to finish.

Inside, Kyo was seriously considering escaping out the window, but something held him back. _As long as it's nothing too obnoxious… Tohru'd probably love it if we were made up to look well together. _

Full to the brim with apprehension, Kyo nudged open the package on his bed, and sighed in relief. _If _this _goes well with the dress, it can't be anything too bad._

Five minutes later, Kyo emerged in dark-blue-almost-black dress pants and a dark green button-up shirt, though the top two buttons were left undone. He hadn't bothered to tuck his shirt in, and the blue tie he'd been provided was hung lazily around his shoulders, untied. He _hated _confining neckwear.

"Kyo!" Ayame gasped in horror. "Your general state of untidiness is inexcuseable!"

"If I have to wear this ridiculous outfit anyway, I might as well make it comfortable," Kyo commented. Ayame frowned.

"I suppose there's nothing I can do. Even if I tried to fix it, you'd undo it. Could you at least make it look like a fashion statement by tucking half your shirt in? It gives it a sort of on-purpose feel," Ayame pleaded. Rolling his eyes, Kyo obeyed.

"There. I'm done. Let's go," Kyo said, turning to leave.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to gel your hair?" Ayame asked, half teasing. At Kyo's horrified look, he laughed. "I kid, I kid! Come, let us reunite you at long last with your Tohru!"

They walked all the way back to Ayame's store, and Kyo was getting more and more nervous.

"We're back!" Ayame sang as he walked in the front door. Mine ran to greet him.

"I had her wait in the back room! I thought we were going for a dressed-up look for Kyo?" Mine questioned, eyeing Kyo up and down.

"He wasn't willing to cooperate, but I fell this fits his personality better, anyway!" Ayame nodded. "Now, we shouldn't keep them waiting! Go on, Kyo! Run to Tohru! Embrace he-"

"Oh would you SHUT UP!" Kyo yelled. "I swear, you're just as back as the dog!"

The yelling she recognized so easily from nearly daily experiences caught Tohru's ear, and she peeked her head out the back room door.

"Oh, Tohru! Come out! Give Kyo a fashion show!" Ayame instructed. Kyo spun around, wide-eyed as Tohru stepped fully into the room, looking at the floor self-consciously. She was blushing profusely, and Kyo wasn't much better off. Kyo cleared his throat.

"Uh, you look great," Kyo said gruffly, looking off to the side. Ayame clapped his hands in glee.

"Okay, you two! Enjoy your night!" Ayame instructed happily, and shoved a confused couple out the door.

"I see they got to you, too, Kyo!" Tohru said cheerily, laughing a little at the expression on Kyo's face.

"It's a miracle that either of us even _survived._" Kyo said with feeling, shaking his head and leading Tohru away from the nutso's store.

"I had fun!" Tohru smiled. Kyo smirked.

"Yeah, coming from the girl who enjoys housework. Come on, Tohru. I had a few ideas, but is there anywhere in particular _you'd _like to go?" Kyo asked. Tohru thought for a while, then shook her head.

"I don't know… There's just so many places we could go, it's overwhelming!" Tohru said with a pained expression.

"You're not much of a decision maker, huh?" Kyo asked with a smile. "Let's go take a walk in the park or something, I guess. Give you more time to think."

The walk itself was more Tohru's thing than Kyo's. Kyo didn't bother with the scenic stuff, and he didn't walk, he ran. However, despite this, Kyo enjoyed the walk. Mostly due to the fact that Tohru saw it fit to hold hands. She trailed just a bit behind him, chattering away about anything and everything, distracting him to the point that he couldn't even remember exactly when her hand had ended up encompassed in his.

Eventually, Kyo decided to take over the decision making process.

"Why don't we go to dinner? I know it's still a little early for it, but knowing Ayame he probably forgot to feed you," Kyo said with a scowl. Tohru smiled sheepishly as though it was her fault, and Kyo started taking her to get dinner.

It was a moderately nice place, although their clothes would've been out of place almost anywhere. And, of course, Tohru always looked on the bright side. Of everything.

"Oh! I love it!" Tohru said, drawing short of the front door and clapping a little in excitement. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"You would've loved fast food. You're really easy to please, you know that?" Kyo said with an endearing smirk. "Come on, let's save you from Ayame's negligence."

After a pleasant dinner where Tohru remarked over everything from the delicious food to the decorations, Kyo dragged her off again. Before he could take her anywhere, however, Tohru froze. Kyo turned around to find Tohru crying with her hands over her eyes, and automatically started freaking out.

"Was it something I said!? Whatever it is, I'm sorry, okay!?" Kyo said. Tohru shook her head.

"N-no. It's not that," Tohru said, and looked up out of her hands, showing her brilliant blue eyes. "I think my curse just broke."

"Then why are you crying?" Kyo asked her like she was crazy.

"Two reasons. It kind of feels like something's missing, but I can't tell what. Also, because you would have noticed if yours had broken yet, you're still cursed. Which means I can't hug you yet," Tohru pouted. Kyo chuckled and put an arm around her.

"I just figured it was my lack of good ideas for our date," Kyo murmured, and Tohru grinned, squeezing him fiercely back.

"Thank goodness," she breathed. Kyo extracted one arm from around her and carefully took off his beads. Nothing happened, and they both let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Kyo was about to throw it as far away as he could, but Tohru stopped him.

"Um… could I have it?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Uh, sure," Kyo said, handing her the bracelet. Although confused as to why she'd want the thing, Kyo was instantly gratified by the joy on Tohru's face as she slipped the bracelet on. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, because Tohru soon adopted her worrying face. Kyo sighed.

"Wanna go home?" he asked. Tohru jumped.

"No, it wouldn't be right! There's no reason to cut short our fun to check on everyone else!" Tohru said, clenching her fist and accidentally confirming Kyo's suspicions.

"You're not going to be _having _fun if you spend the entire time worrying. Besides, the great thing about this? It's not a one-time occurrence," Kyo said. "Breaking the curse sort of is."

Tohru nodded mutely, so Kyo took her jogging off towards Shigure's. They weren't too far, so it took them maybe ten minutes to get to the forest path and another five to get to Shigure's. Kyo knocked on the door, and the door was opened by a rather smug-looking Hana.

"Well, Megumi seems to have done good work," she commented dryly, noticing Tohru's return to her natural eye color.

"What are you doing here?" Kyo asked bluntly.

"Merely making sure. It's not like Megumi's an expert. Who _knows _what could have gone wrong?" Hana asked. Kyo's temper was rising, so Tohru stepped in to prevent conflict.

"Are Yuki and Shigure both…?" Tohru asked Hana, successfully diverting Kyo's attention. Hana nodded.

"As are the others. Shigure got a call from the main house not long after I got here," Hana reassured Tohru, who calmed down a little. "I was just on my way home to congratulate Megumi on his success. Go on inside and celebrate or whatever." With a swish of her black cloak, she was off down the road. Tohru and Kyo went inside.

"Yuki? Shigure? You guys okay?" Tohru called.

"Tohru! You're back!" Shigure exclaimed, and he and Yuki both came out into the hall to greet them. Yuki looked relieved after a quick glance at Tohru, and Kyo crossed his arms, having a feeling that he knew why.

The foursome gathered in the living room and sat down in various positions around the room.

"It feels so… different," Yuki said with a frown after a long, awkward silence. Shigure nodded.

"It's to be expected. We've lived one way all our lives only to have it torn away. Of course it's different. It will probably take some getting used to," Shigure sighed.

"Different's not the right word," Kyo said smugly, moving over to stand behind Tohru. Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he inquired. "What _is _the right word?"

"Better," Kyo said confidently, and wrapped his arms around the girl he was no longer kept from by the curse.

"Definitely," Tohru agreed with a smile. "_Much _better."

The End.

(I may be tempted to write an epilogue. It depends on reviews!)


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